Chirag lands in Bihar in first visit since split, gets a rousing welcome

The two factions of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), one led by Chirag Paswan and the other by his uncle and MP Pashupati Kumar Paras, on Monday observed the birth anniversary of its founder, late Ram Vilas Paswan, who passed away last year just ahead of Bihar assembly elections, separately at two different places

The two factions of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), one led by Chirag Paswan and the other by his uncle and MP Pashupati Kumar Paras, on Monday observed the birth anniversary of its founder, late Ram Vilas Paswan, who passed away last year just ahead of Bihar assembly elections, separately at two different places.

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While Paras group organised a function at the LJP office in Patna, where he has been regularly sitting since proclaiming himself to be the party president, Chirag chose the day to start off with a function in Delhi to pay tributes to his father and then flew to Patna to go straight to Hajipur, a constituency nurtured and represented by late Ram Vikas Paswan eight times since 1977 and presently represented by Paras.

Both factions also launched a poster war on the streets of Patna.

For Chirag, it was his first visit to Bihar post-split and he played the emotional card to remind people how “his own ditched him less than a year after his father’s death and how his father, too, had to face attempts to pull him back during his struggle days”. He was given a rousing reception at the airport, with a big crowd joining his cavalcade as he went to garland the statue of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar in Patna, but was not allowed to do so by the local administration.

“It is strange. Babasaheb is the framer of Constitution. Why anyone should be stopped from paying respect to the leader? They can stop us from going to the statue, but they cannot stop us from cherishing his ideals,” Chirag said, shouting slogans like “Babasaheb Amar rahe, Ramvilas Paswan Amar rahe” with his supporters.

Later, Chirag’s supporters sat on dharna there for some time in protest before heading straight to Sultanpur village in Hajipur quite late to launch “Ashirvad Yatra” to connect with the people across the state. He skipped the LJP office adjacent to the airport, where the rival faction was holding fort with their supporters. “People from across the state came to the office to pay their tributes to the LJP founder,” Paras said.

At Hajipur, where a large number of supporters had gathered, Chirag Paswan said, “Even when my father was around, attempts were made to break the party, but LJP continued its march, so it will. But I am overwhelmed with the welcome people have accorded me. This is what I used to witness when I came here with my father. It has boosted my confidence and given a befitting reply to those who connived to break my party,” he said in Hajipur, where his journey turned into a roadshow.

Selection of Sultanpur, a village in Hajipur assembly constituency having around 1700 Paswan families where late Ram Vilas Paswan often visited, demonstrated meticulous planning to launch Chirag’s yatra. Sultanpur was made “Adarsh Gaon’ in 2008. Most villagers said they saw in Chirag the true heir of his father. His cavalcade moved at a snail’s pace in Hajipur, reaching Sultanpur past 6.30 pm, by when it had already started drizzling. Still, the people waited for hours in Sultanpur.

Earlier in the day, RJD, which extended its support to Chirag during the factional war in the LJP, also paid tributes to Ram Vilas Paswan. RJD chief Lalu Prasad mentioned Paswan’s relationship with him in course of his virtual address to underline the importance of the departed leader’s legacy in the Dalit politics of the state. After PM’s tweet to pay tributes to the LJP founder, BJP leaders also took to the social media to pay their respect.