LJP leader Chirag Paswan blames JDU, mum on BJP; G5 in Patna to elect chief

Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan, who spoke out on Wednesday for the first time since the crisis in his party unfolded on Monday morning, blamed the developments directly on the JDU. “In the past too, JDU had been trying to break the party. They have already tried to create a divide among Dalits by creating a subgroup Mahadalit,” Paswan told media persons in Delhi. “This conspiracy was hatched when I was not well.” He however, refrained from making any comments on BJP.

Chirag said had his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras expressed his desire to become the parliamentary party leader, he would have happily agreed to it. Chirag says as per party constitution, he is still the president and has removed all five MPs from the party. On the other side, Pashupati Kumar Paras and other MPs reached Patna on Wednesday. The Paras fraction is all set to hold a meeting on Thursday to elect a new president. “I am also taking legal counsel on how to proceed further in this case,” Chirag Paswan said.

Bihar is all set to witness a fierce battle between the two factions of the LJP over gaining the loyalty of the politically most empowered Dalit sub-caste –– the Paswans. Extremely loyal to LJP founder, the late Ram Vilas Paswan, his caste-men, who constitute around 6% of the Bihar electorate, are expected to firm up their support to either of the two factions over the coming years in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, which is the next big battle in the state. Narendra Singh, one of the founding members of LJP, said Chirag faces a tough challenge to counter Paras at the ground level. He also added that Chirag needs to change his style of functioning. Raju Tiwari, LJP’s state chief, says that the leader is Chirag and no one else. Political analyst NK Chaudhary feels that Chirag is at a clear disadvantage as he has lost control over the party machine as it exists today.