Chirag Paswan dials Lalu Prasad, revives family links

Lok Janshakti Party leader and Jamui MP Chirag Paswan on Monday spoke to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav, his son and leader of opposition in Bihar.

Lok Janshakti Party leader and Jamui MP Chirag Paswan, upstaged by a coup led by his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras who was recently sworn in as union minister, on Monday spoke to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad and his son and leader of opposition in Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav, in New Delhi over phone.

Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan, who spoke to Lalu Prasad on phone, will return to Bihar later this week to resume his Aashirwad Yatra.

Paswan, who has been on “Aashirwad Yatra” in Bihar, returned to Delhi on Saturday. “Yes, he had a talk with two leaders,” LJP leader Ashraf Ansari said.

“He will again return to Bihar on Thursday or Friday to resume his tour,” said Raju Tiwary, state president of LJP’s (Paswan faction).

Paswan’s move to reach out to Lalu Prasad comes days after the Delhi high court dismissed his plea challenging Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s decision to recognise Paras as the LJP leader in the House.

Chirag Paswan, whose father and former union minister late Ram Vilas Paswan founded LJP in 2000, is locked in a bitter dispute with Paras over the control of the party. Paras enjoys the support of five of the six of LJP’s Lok Sabha MPs. Both factions have claimed to be the real LJP and the Election Commission of India is yet to rule on the matter.

Earlier on Monday, former minister and RJD leader Shyam Rajak also went to meet Chirag Paswan’s mother at their New Delhi residence. Asked whether Chirag is welcome in RJD, Rajak said, “All those who want to take forward the ideology of Lohia and Ambedkar are welcome, be it Chirag Paswan or anyone else.”

Chirag Paswan (38) also faces the formidable challenge to retain his father’s legacy as a Dalit leader at a time when other Dalit faces in Bihar — Jitan Ram Manjhi, Meira Kumar, Shyam Rajak and others — are past their prime.

“It is a golden opportunity for him. If he handles the legacy of late Ram Vilas Paswan and builds on the strength by mobilizing youths, no doubt he will become the face of the youth and Dalits. For this, he has to take himself out of the revenge politics and show statesmanship,” says D M Diwakar, former director of A N Sinha Institute of Social Studies.

“Paswan, with age on his side, can truly become a champion for the community but he has to prove his mettle. He must maintain a safe distance from RJD and JD (U),” said BJP leader Sanjay Paswan.

Chirag Paswan, who embarked on a statewide tour earlier this month, visited his ancestral village Saharbani in Khagaria district and and took blessings form late Paswan’s first wife. He also paid visits to his step sisters in the state capital in an effort to win over the support of the family.