Chirag Paswan breaks ranks, asks CEC to clear air as NDA ally charts independent line

In a clear departure from the defensive posture adopted by most BJP-led NDA constituents, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief and Union minister Chirag Paswan on Friday called on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar to firmly and publicly clarify the Election Commission’s position amid questions over the electoral process

In a clear departure from the defensive posture adopted by most BJP-led NDA constituents, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief and Union minister Chirag Paswan on Friday called on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar to firmly and publicly clarify the Election Commission’s position amid questions over the electoral process.

Speaking to reporters in Patna and Delhi , the LJP(RV) leader stressed that the poll panel was an independent constitutional body and the responsibility to allay public doubts rested primarily with the CEC. “If questions are being raised on the Election Commission’s conduct… the responsibility lies with the CEC to present his stance clearly. It is problematic if people begin to doubt the electoral process itself. The EC needs to present its stance, not to Rahul Gandhi, but to the public,” he said.

Paswan added that while the Opposition’s job was to do politics, the Commission must maintain the people’s trust by putting forth its points firmly so that no doubts linger in the public mind.

The remarks come against the backdrop of a media house’s investigative report that the CEC chose to differ with two ECs on multiple occasions to decisions linked to the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. While the BJP and JD(U) have largely avoided amplifying the controversy or have defended institutional processes, Paswan’s insistence on public clarification sets his party apart within the ruling alliance.

Only a day ago, at the party’s GenZ conclave—“Youth Bole Toh”—held in Patna amid heavy rain, he asserted that girls in Bihar are feeling unsafe. The comment, coming on the heels of high-profile incidents including those in Jamui and Samastipur, carried the potential to put the state administration on the defensive. Through a post on X, Paswan had also demanded encounters of those indulging in physical assault of girls, underscoring a zero-tolerance stance and calling for accountability that extended beyond arrests.

Earlier too, Paswan had cornered the Nitish Kumar-led establishment on deteriorating law and order, publicly expressing regret at having to support a government that appeared unable to check crime. Such interventions, delivered while his party continued to share power at the Centre and in the state, have underscored a pattern, which is that the LJP(RV) remains inside the NDA tent but does not always speak in lockstep with its larger partners.

On reservation, Paswan has likewise taken positions that create clear blue water with sections of the alliance. He has repeatedly described caste-based quotas as a non-negotiable constitutional right rooted in social justice and the vision of BR Ambedkar, rejecting any talk of review, sub-categorisation or the introduction of a creamy layer within scheduled caste reservations. In a sharp clash with fellow NDA ally and Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi earlier this year, Paswan demanded that those advocating creamy-layer norms first resign from the benefits of reservation themselves. “Paswan’s stance reinforced his claim as a pan-Dalit voice while exposing fault lines with other NDA constituents pushing for internal restructuring of quotas,” remarked a social analyst Rama Shankar Arya, a former professor of Danapur.

Another retired professor Patna University Nawal Kishore Chaudhary said, “Beneath these public interventions lies a longer political subtext. Party leaders have openly projected Paswan as a future chief ministerial face for Bihar, with organisational resolutions and public declarations framing him as the natural choice in the next assembly contest. Paswan himself has been careful to deny immediate personal ambition, framing such talk as the natural aspiration of workers and insisting that leadership decisions rest with the broader NDA. Yet the messaging—combined with his assertive interventions on issues of safety, reservation and institutional accountability—keeps the possibility alive without forcing an open rupture.”