5 LJP MPs rebel against Chirag, choose his uncle as leader in LS

Five of six Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) lawmakers in Lok Sabha replaced party chief Chirag Paswan with his uncle and Hajipur MP Pashupati Kumar Paras as the leader of the parliamentary party on Monday, after a late-night rebellion by senior leaders roiled the regional party and touched off a political storm in Bihar.

In a letter to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla on Monday, the five MPs said Paras was unanimously elected at the LJP parliamentary board meeting on Sunday at 6pm in Delhi. Khagaria MP Mehboob Ali Kesar was named deputy leader and Nawada MP Chandan Singh chief whip.

“This is a decision taken out of compulsion. We were feeling suffocated,” said Paras, brother of late Union minister and LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan, who died last year. Late on Monday evening, the Lok Sabha secretariat issued a notification recognising Paras as the leader of the LJP parliamentary party.

Paras underlined that the LJP will remain in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and praised Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, indicating that the party that was earlier bitterly opposed to the Janata Dal (United) might pursue a new direction under him. “There are six MPs in our party. It was the desire of five MPs to save our party. I have not broken party but saved it,” he said.

Paras added that he bore no ill will towards his nephew and dismissed speculation that the party will break or merge with JD(U). LJP leaders aware of developments said Paras was likely to be formally made the party’s national president soon.

The political change of guard was followed by dramatic scenes in Delhi as Paswan drove to meet Paras at his Rajendra Prasad Road residence but was left waiting outside the main gate for 15 minutes. Paswan , who is recuperating from Covid, drove himself with a cannula inserted in his hand clearly visible. He reached the residence at 11.45am and met Paras’s wife, said a person aware of developments.

He left after an hour and 40 minutes, added the person, without speaking to the press. “He has been taken aback by the family feud that has threatened his hold over the party,” said a person close to the38-year-old Jamui MP.

The surprise rebellion is an attempt to end the LJP’s alienation within the NDA -- where it is not invited to alliance meetings due to objections by the Janata Dal (United) – and comes amid speculation that Paras or his nephew, Samastipur MP Prince Raj, could be given a cabinet berth in Delhi.

Paswan assumed charge of LJP after his father died weeks before the Bihar elections last year. But relations between Paras and Paswan nosedived when LJP decided to contest against the BJP-JD(U) alliance and Paswan targeted Kumar of misgovernance and corruption. During the campaign, Paras praised Kumar but was forced to retract his comment.

LJP took in many JD(U) rebels and damaged Kumar’s party in at least 30 seats, almost costing the NDA a victory and resulting in the JD(U) posting its worst result and emerging as a junior partner to BJP. LJP also performed poorly, winning just one seat – its worst performance.

In April, the lone party MLA, Raj Kumar Singh, joined the JD(U).

Paras said some leaders inducted in the party in the run up to the Bihar polls were primarily responsible for the bad choices made. “99% of party leaders and cadres wanted to be in the NDA…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,” he added.

The rebellion is also aimed at ending the LJP’s isolation within the NDA, where the party is not called for meetings due to objections by the JD(U).

Paras heaped lavish praise on 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.

NDA leaders in Bihar said on condition of anonymity that 200 LJP leaders joined the JD(U) after the assembly polls and before his rebellion, Paras met JD(U) MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh, a close associate of Kumar. Singh, assembly deputy speaker Maheswar Hazari and member of legislative council Sanjay Singh met the five LJP MPs on Monday.

“It is a well known adage that as you sow, so you reap. Chirag Paswan was heading a party which was with the NDA. Yet, he adopted a stance that damaged it in the assembly polls. This led to a sense of unease within his own party,” JD(U) leader RCP Singh told reporters in Patna.

In Delhi, speculation swirled of a possible cabinet berth to one of the LJP rebels.

“There has been talk that Paras or Prince could be offered a berth in the Union council of ministers. Since JD(U) made clear their views on not being in favour of Chirag, a change in leadership could be a compromise that can keep the party intact and part of the NDA alliance,” said an LJP functionary on condition of anonymity

A second party leader who also did not wish to be named said Paswan took the first step to reach out to his uncle and will do his best to prevent a split in the party. “There is a possibility that he will agree to step down as party president to avoid a split in the LJP,” the second leader said.

If the party leaders fail to reach an agreement and the party is split, then both factions will have to prove their majority in order to retain the party symbol.

The BJP distanced itself from the issue. “This is an internal matter of the party and the family and we hope it is resolved at the earliest,” said BJP spokesperson Guru Prakash.

Bihar Congress on Monday urged Chirag to break away from the BJP-led NDA and align with the Congress-RJD led Grand Alliance (GA) to fulfil dreams of his father, Ram Vilas Paswan.

The Congress asked Paswan to join hands with the Opposition Grand Alliance and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) blamed Kumar. “Those who torch other’s houses shall not forget that the fire might also engulf their houses also. However, Nitish Kumar can’t just wish away the troubles that he faces after release of Lalu Prasad from the jail. The game is still on,” said RJD MLA and chief spokesman Bhai Birendra.

Experts said Paswan damaged his political future by doing negative politics. “What happened in the LJP was bound to happen. Chirag got politics in platter but could not match his late father Ram Vilas Paswan’s aura. Old party men were feeling suffocated. Dalits have significant place in Bihar but Chirag couldn’t consolidate them,” said DM Diwakar, political expert and former director of AN Sinha Institute for Social Studies.