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Chirag Paswan calls LJP national executive meeting in power tussle with uncle Pashupati Paras
The move is being seen as a show of strength in support of Chirag Paswan, the son of LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan, after all five other MPs of the party joined Pashupati Paras to divest him of key positions.
The Chirag Paswan led faction of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) has called a national executive meeting in national capital Delhi on Sunday. Amid a feud with his uncle Pashupati Paras over the control of the party, Paswan has asserted that more than 90 per cent of the national executive members are with him.
The move is being seen as a show of strength in support of Chirag Paswan, the son of Lok Janshakti Party founder Ram Vilas Paswan, after all five other MPs of the party joined Paras to divest him of key positions. A leader of the LJP said that Paswan could also use the proceedings of the meeting on Sunday to back up its case before the Election Commission.
Meanwhile, the LJP faction headed by Paras on Saturday disbanded all bodies and state units affiliated with the party and announced a new national executive. With Paras as its president, all four other MPs of the faction figure in the executive while a few of those party office-bearers who switched loyalty to him from Paswan have also been inducted.
Chirag Paswan's claim:
Chirag Paswan met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday to present his case against Birla's decision to accept the claim of the other faction declaring Paras as the leader of the party in Lok Sabha.
Before meeting Birla, a delegation led by Paswan visited the Election Commission office on Friday urging the EC to seek its view before taking a decision on any claim over the party by the other faction headed by Paras.
After submitting his memorandum to the Election Commission, Paswan told reporters that he was elected party president for five years in 2019 as he rejected his uncle Paras' election in his place.
"The EC has assured to hear us in case of any other contrary claim," he said.
Paras faction's counter:
Pashupati Kumar Paras has said that his election to the top post was completely valid under the party's constitution. "According to party's constitution, Chirag Paswan is neither LJP's national president nor the Leader of the parliamentary party now. Yesterday's election was completely valid under party's constitution, of which he is not aware," he said on Friday.
On Thursday, the rebel faction of the LJP elected Paras as the new party president. Chirag Paswan reacted by saying that the election was illegal as it was conducted by members of the LJP who were suspended from the party.
The genesis of the crisis:
The crisis in the LJP began on Sunday, when five LJP Lok Sabha members replaced Chirag Paswan with Paras, the younger brother of LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan. These MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and handed over a letter to him seeking removal of Chirag Paswan as party chief and as the Lok Sabha Parliamentary party leader.
On Monday, the Lok Sabha secretariat issued a notification recognising Paras as the parliamentary party chief. Paras blamed his nephew for the family feud.
The fallout between Paras and Chirag Paswan has been attributed to a range of issues including the former's dissatisfaction with his nephew's decision to break away from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Bihar election.
LJP was formed by former Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan in 2000. Paswan, a heavyweight leader in Bihar politics, passed away in October 2020.
The battle over the party's ownership is now likely to be decided in the Election Commission as both groups fight for the legacy of the popular Dalit leader.
