close_game
close_game

‘LJP pushed to brink’: Pashupati Kr Paras explains ‘coup’ against Chirag Paswan

Jun 14, 2021 12:56 PM IST

Chirag Paswan-led LJP won only one assembly seat and his clout further eroded when the party’s lone MLC Nutan Singh joined BJP in February this year and in April, the lone party MLA Raj Kumar Singh joined the JD (U) in the presence of chief minister Nitish Kumar.

Five Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) Lok Sabha members claim to have removed Chirag Paswan as the leader of the parliamentary party on Sunday. His uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras, who is likely to be chosen their new leader, told HT that the change was done out of ‘majboori’ or a compulsion to correct the course of the party while staying in the NDA (National Democratic Alliance), and there was no intention to merge with any party.

LJP MPs claim to have removed Chirag Paswan as the leader of the Parlimentary party in Lok Sabha and his uncle Paras is likely to replace him, said party leaders. (PTI Photo/File)
LJP MPs claim to have removed Chirag Paswan as the leader of the Parlimentary party in Lok Sabha and his uncle Paras is likely to replace him, said party leaders. (PTI Photo/File)

“Yah majboori ka faisla hai. (This is a decision taken out of compulsion). We were feeling suffocated,” Hajipur MP and brother of the late union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Pashupati Kumar Paras told Hindustan Times.

The rebellion against Chirag Paswan marks an attempt to end the party’s alienation in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which hastened with LJP’s decision to contest against Janata Dal-United (JD-U) in Bihar assembly polls last November. The decision was widely believed to have damaged the JD-U’s electoral prospects, reducing its tally to 43, and nearly costing the NDA power in the state. If that was not enough, Chirag Paswan-led LJP flopped badly, winning only one assembly seat. His clout further eroded when the party’s lone MLC Nutan Singh joined BJP in February this year and in April, the lone party MLA, Raj Kumar Singh joined the JD (U) in the presence of chief minister Nitish Kumar.

“After the death of Ram Vilas Paswan on October 8, 2020, some of the unilateral decisions taken by the party leadership pushed the LJP to the brink of extinction,” Paras, who was hauled during the assembly elections for praising Nitish Kumar and forced to retract his statement, said reflecting on the reasons for party’s downhill journey after Chirag took over complete control over party’s affairs following his father’s death.

LJP leaders aware of the development said that Paras would be formally made the party’s national president and the leader of the parliamentary party. “We met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and handed him a letter regarding these new developments,” confirmed Paras.

Besides Paras, the party MPs who have now rebelled against Chirag Paswan’s leadership include his cousin Prince Raj (LJP state president and Samastipur MP), Mehboob Ali Qaiser, Veena Devi and Chandan Singh. LJP won six Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 polls.

Paras said some leaders inducted in the party in the run up to Bihar polls were primarily responsible for the bad choices made. “99% of the party leaders and cadres wanted to be in the NDA and contest Bihar assembly elections together. However, influenced by some, it was decided to contest the election independently and everybody knows the humiliation the party suffered. It was a wrong decision and today the LJP doesn’t have a single representation in the assembly,” he said.

Paras, however, ruled out merger with any party. “The party is intact, only the leadership has changed. The LJP, which was founded in 2000, has been a part of the NDA since 2014, and we will continue to be in the NDA,” he said, and heaped lavish praise on Nitish Kumar. “He is a vikas purush (man of development). Bihar has developed under his regime, and we will support him in this endeavour,” he added.

Leaders in the NDA, aware of the political churning in the LJP, said that Chirag Paswan’s decision to take on Nitish Kumar head on damaged the JD-U’s prospects in 36-40 seats. The JD-U was working silently ever since to damage the LJP. More than 200 LJP leaders joined the JD-U after the polls and even Paras met with JD-U MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh, a close associate of Nitish Kumar.

Get Current Updates on India News, Weather Today, Latest News at Hindustan Times.
See More
Get Current Updates on India News, Weather Today, Latest News at Hindustan Times.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On