Family Feud Escalates: Pashupati Paras Vows to 'Crush' Nephew Chirag Paswan in Bihar Assembly Elections

LJP chief Chirag Paswan (left) and his estranged uncle, Pashupati Paras (File).

New Delhi:

The family feud between the Paswans has intensified as Pashupati Paras' party has pledged to 'crush' his nephew Chirag Paswan in the upcoming Bihar Assembly election.

This dramatic reversal comes just 72 hours after Paras had seemingly supported the younger leader, stating that "nothing could be a matter of more joy than my nephew grabbing the 'throne of Bihar'," though he added the caveat that "the power to make someone the Chief Minister rests entirely with the people of Bihar."

Now, Paras' Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP), frustrated by delayed alliance talks with the Congress-led INDIA bloc, has announced plans to field candidates against all those nominated by Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party.

Following a meeting of senior RLJP leaders in Patna on Wednesday night, the party declared, "We will ensure the crushing defeat of all candidates fielded by Chirag. To achieve this objective, the RLJP will field candidates in all seats the LJP will contest."

RLJP sources revealed to PTI that this decision was "forced because of the delay in inducting our party into the INDIA bloc and announcing a seat-sharing formula." They emphasized, "We hardly have time left. Filing of nominations commences day after tomorrow."

Sources indicated that RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, widely considered the opposition's chief ministerial candidate (though contested by Congress), had previously discussed a potential alliance with Paras.

However, with no progress on these talks and even the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha being prioritized in negotiations, the frustrated RLJP appears ready to abandon alliance hopes. "We still hope Yadavji will act in time," a senior RLJP leader told PTI.

The hostility between Paras and Paswan dates back to the death of Ram Vilas Paswan in October 2020, which triggered a power struggle between uncle and nephew. Initially, Paras gained the upper hand by splitting the original LJP and securing a union minister position. However, the dynamic shifted when the BJP chose to ally with Chirag Paswan and his LJP (Ram Vilas) ahead of last year's central election.

This led to Paras resigning from the government and leaving the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, sparking speculation about a potential opposition alliance that has yet to materialize. With numerous opposition parties competing for limited seats, such an agreement now seems increasingly unlikely.

The RLJP's strategy to target Paswan appears to acknowledge that their best chance for impact is disrupting his campaign by reducing his vote share and complicating the BJP's efforts to secure support from the Paswan community, who represent six percent of Bihar's population.

It's certain that Paras and the RLJP will not ally with the BJP in this election. As early as April, he stated, "I was with the BJP since 2014. But from today, there will be no relation..."

Meanwhile, Chirag Paswan seems focused on maximizing seat allocation for his party. The LJP is pressuring the BJP to grant 40 seats for the upcoming election and has been strategically posturing to achieve this goal, including exploring possibilities with Prashant Kishor and his Jan Suraaj movement.

Kishor, however, has dismissed any potential alliance with Chirag Paswan.

The BJP reportedly is willing to offer Paswan only 25 seats, despite his impressive performance in the Lok Sabha election where his party won all five contested seats. BJP sources told NDTV that Paswan's aggressive negotiation tactics are primarily meant to appease hardliners within his party.

The Bihar election will be conducted in two phases on November 6 and 11, with results announced on November 14. The ruling BJP-JDU alliance, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and supported by Paswan and smaller parties, is expected to prevail over the opposition Mahagathbandhan coalition of the RJD and Congress.

With input from agencies

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