Form of words:
Patna: The relationship of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with the late Ram Vilas Paswan’s son Chirag Paswan has changed.
After ignoring him for months in favor of his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras, the BJP now feels the need to put Chirag in good humour as it sees his faction taking control of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), the BJP. Months after Paras was given a berth. in the central government.
on Sunday, as organized by Chirag anniversary Regarding his father in Patna, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to him and told him over the phone how much he missed Ram Vilas Paswan. The PM also inquired about the health of his family members. After the call, a two-page emotional letter came.
“It is a very emotional day for me. Today I remember him not only as a close friend but also feeling the political vacuum created by his death,” PM Modi wrote in his letter to the late Ram Vilas. Wrote Paswan remembering the achievements of both a Union minister and a politician.
The impact of the letter was felt during the ceremony, where most of the Bihar BJP stalwarts, including the speaker and two deputy chief ministers, were seen.
Union Minister Nityanand Rai also took a flight from Delhi to participate in the program. “I had a personal relationship with Ram Vilas” Yes. He was a leader above parties and above caste,” Rai told The Print.
Speaking about this change in approach, a BJP leader on condition of anonymity said, “Of course, the message of the PM’s letter was clear that we cannot ignore Chirag.”
The latest move comes a few weeks after Chirag Offered A few months’ extension to vacate the Lutyens’ bungalow, in which Paswan Sr. lived for more than three decades.
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change of heart of BJP
In June, the BJP is said to have played an active role in the split of the LJP, when five party MPs ousted Chirag Paswan and replaced him with his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras as the president.
The next month, the Modi government recognized Paras’ faction as LJP and the latter was made a Union minister on the party quota. However, the Rajya Sabha seat that fell vacant due to the death of Paswan Sr. was denied to Chirag.
“The choice of the BJP leadership at the Center was a more flexible Paras,” said a BJP MP on condition of anonymity.
This came after the BJP complied with a Janata Dal (United) order that held Chirag responsible for the cliffhanger 2020 assembly election results in which 42 JD(U) candidates lost due to LJP candidates taking a huge vote. The fact that the LJP won only one seat and garnered over 5.5 per cent of the popular vote told the whole story.
caste arithmetic
But things changed when Chirag Paswan began the ‘Aashirwad Yatra’ from his late father’s stronghold Hajipur, which is currently represented by Paras, in July.
Chirag was especially warmly welcomed by the Paswans. However, Pashupati Kumar Paras’ visit to Hajipur in August was a disaster. The mob surrounded him and thrashed him fiercely.
Ram Vilas Pawan was considered the third engine of Bihar politics along with Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar because of his influence on the people of his caste.
The Paswans are the most aggressive section of the Dalits. According to the 1931 census data, out of 16 per cent of the state’s Dalit population, 5-6 per cent are Paswans. From 1999 onwards, the late Ram Vilas Paswan was able to swing the results in favor of whichever coalition he was a part of.
In addition, most of the Lok Sabha seats in Bihar have around 50,000 or more Paswans. In 2014, when the BJP and JD(U) contested separately, Ram Vilas formed an alliance with the BJP and gave the NDA a lead and victory in 32 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats.
After his death on October 8 last year, and after Chirag’s rebellion, the BJP expected Paras Paswan to step in the place of Sr. Hence the party supported him when JD(U) played a role in the split of LJP. However, the results were not pretty.
Since July, Chirag has traveled to several districts of Bihar – Purnia, Katihar, Jehanabad, Begusarai and others – involving large crowds, especially Paswan.
The BJP MP quoted above said, “We have given a response to the BJP leadership that it will be Chirag and not Paras who will inherit his father’s political legacy.”
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Tejashwi-plus-chirgo threat
Since June, there have been two meetings between Chirag Paswan and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Tejashwi Yadav. While both have called them non-political, voices in RJD have been appealing to Chirag to join the opposition grand alliance.
RJD national general secretary Shyam Rajak told ThePrint, “Both Tejashwi Yadav and Chirag are the future of Bihar and joining hands is a natural political outcome.”
The possibility of Chirag joining hands with the RJD is haunting the BJP. “In the last assembly elections, there was a gap of barely 12,000 votes between the votes of the Grand Alliance and the NDA. We are talking about 5 per cent votes.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is not apologizing to Chirag for playing a key role in pushing the JD(U) to the third position in the assembly, for which he is at the mercy of the BJP.
However, it is generally believed that Kumar is playing the last phase of his politics in the 70s. In 2024, while the JD(U) and Nitish Kumar’s position is uncertain, Chirag will still have Paswan votes. The BJP’s desire to keep the lamp close is because of this reason.
(Edited by Amit Upadhyay)
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