Bihar: Rift widens in Paswan family as uncle Paras vows to challenge Chirag in all seats

Patna, Oct 8 (PTI) Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s estranged uncle and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) chief Pashupati Kumar Paras on Wednesday said his party will field candidates in all constituencies being contested by his nephew's party, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).

The RLJP chief made the announcement at the party's parliamentary board meeting here.

Paras had quit the Union Cabinet last year in protest against the BJP’s decision to accommodate Chirag in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, RLJP chief spokesperson Shrawan Aggarwal said, "An announcement was made by parliamentary board president and former MP Suraj Bhan Singh that we will ensure the crushing defeat of all candidates fielded by Chirag." "To achieve this objective, the RLJP will field its candidates in all seats that the LJP-RV will be contesting", added Aggarwal.

The announcement comes at a time when Chirag, the 42-year-old MP from Hajipur, is in talks with the BJP for a "respectable deal" within the NDA, which also includes Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha, and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha.

Paras and Chirag were earlier part of the Lok Janshakti Party founded by late Ram Vilas Paswan, until a split engineered by the former led to his induction into the Union Cabinet following his elder brother’s demise.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, an RLJP leader told PTI, "We have been forced to make such an announcement because of the inordinate delay in formally inducting our party into the INDIA bloc and announcing a seat-sharing formula. We hardly have time left. Filing of nomination papers will commence day after tomorrow".

"RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and his alliance partners, including the Congress, have been saying they will bring Paras ji on board. But our workers have grown sceptical since Yadav, who heads the coalition’s coordination committee, is yet to invite our leader for talks. Even the JMM, which has a base in Jharkhand but not in Bihar, has been called for discussions. We still hope Yadav will act in time and clear the air on RLJP," the leader added. PTI NAC PKD MNB