New Delhi: Five of the six Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) MPs joined hands against their leader Chirag Paswan and elected his paternal uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras as the leader of the parliamentary party in Lok Sabha, causing a big churn in Bihar politics.
Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary on Monday (June 14) explained how Chirag Paswan has been isolated by his own party members and what it says about the bitter truth of dynastic politics.
LJP has 6 MPs including Chirag Paswan in the Lok Sabha, out of which five MPs are now opposing him. The protesting MPs are being led by Chirag’s uncle and Ram Vilas Paswan's brother Pashupatinath Paras. He met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla today and demanded to declare him the leader of the party in the House, which was accepted by the Speaker. Paras has said that he has not broken the party but saved it.
When Chirag Paswan reached Pashupatinath Paras' house in Delhi, the gate of the house was not opened after seeing his car. It was later said that Paras was not present at home at the time which is why Chirag could not meet him.
In the year 2000, Ram Vilas Paswan separated from JDU and formed Lok Janshakti Party. He paved the way for his two brothers, their sons and his own son Chirag Paswan. But only 248 days after his death, the family seems to be falling apart.
There are two main reasons being cited for this turn of events:
1. Expansion on the Union Cabinet - For the past few days, it is being said that there may be a change in the Union Cabinet and Chirag Paswan may become a minister. But this may not go down well with BJP’s ally in Bihar, Nitish Kumar’s JD(U).
2. During the Bihar assembly elections last year, Chirag Paswan broke away from the BJP-JDU alliance. There are reports suggesting this to be the main reason for the split in the LJP. Nitish Kumar does not want Chirag to become a minister in the central government. Maybe that's why Pashupatinath Paras is getting JDU's support.
From this episode, there is a lesson to be learnt for the Congress party. Just as the LJP MPs refused to accept Chirag Paswan as their leader, it is possible that in the future, something similar may happen in the Congress too.
There are frequent reports of disgruntled leaders leaving the Congress party. But the party still does not seem to be getting over the dynastic politics. They might suffer a fate similar to what Chirag Paswan is facing.
