Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Big shoes to fill as Chirag Paswan claims father's legacy in Hajipur

"Mere neta, mere pita (my leader and my father)," LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan said at the beginning of his speech at the election meeting at Bhagwanpur in Hajipur Lok Sabha constituency, referring to his late father and former Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

After representing Jamui for two consecutive terms, he has shifted to Hajipur, his father's bastion, in this Lok Sabha election.

He promised voters that he would go two steps ahead of his father in bringing development projects to Hajipur. His father is credited with the development of several factories, railway zonal office and institute for hotel management in Hajipur. He said his relationship with Hajipur dates to 1977. "So, I will remain as a son and not a parliamentarian or a leader," he said, seeking to connect with the constituency through his father's legacy.


Chirag Paswan's campaign is designed to both celebrate and nurture his father's rich legacy of representing Hajipur in Parliament for as many as nine terms. He faces Shiv Chandra Ram, the most prominent local Scheduled Caste face of the RJD, which leads the opposition alliance comprising the Congress and the Left parties.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Ram had lost to Paswan's uncle and former Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras. But he has represented Rajapakar (Vaishali) and Mahua (Hajipur) seats in the state assembly in the past. He comes from the Ravidas community, and he is said to be close to the RJD chief Lalu Prasad.

"Shiv Chandraji is a right choice for the RJD as he is a local face. He enjoys respect among all castes," his supporter PK Choudhari, who is camping in Hajipur, told ET.

The RJD camp is mainly banking on Nishad, Chaurasia, Kushwaha and a section of Bhumihar voters, apart from its traditional support base among Muslims and Yadavs. "RJD has given the ticket to Munna Shukla for contesting Hajipur's neighbouring Vaishali seat. So he may help RJD bag votes of Bhumihar castes in Hajipur's Lalganj area," said Akhilesh Singh, a resident of Bhagwanpur.

The VIP, an ally of the RJD, also has its support base among Nishad voters. Raghopur, which is part of the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat, is represented by RJD's young face and leader of opposition Tejashwi Prasad in the state assembly. The RJD is also trying to convince voters that late Ram Vilas Paswan was a leader of socially ignored and deprived people while Chirag lacks that quality.

Another worry for Chirag Paswan is his strained relations with uncle Paras, who is not visible in the election campaign. Moreover, since Paswan is the NDA's prominent SC face, he is also required to tour other parts of the state.

Soon after his father's death, on October 8, 2020, he had started claiming the Hajipur LS seat in a bid to emerge as the inheritor of Ram Vilas Paswan's political legacy. As the constituency goes to the polls on May 20, Chirag Paswan must also be hoping to benefit from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal among the voters.