However, two-time Lok Sabha MP Chirag Paswan said it was his father who pushed him towards his decision.
Patna:
Chirag Paswan, whose solo struggle has become the X factor in the Bihar election campaign of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), says it was his father, Ram Vilas Paswan, who “instigated” him to do it alone, contrary to the narrative of the BJP.
“He used to instigate me. He used to tell me that you should compete alone and this is how the match will get stronger and spread,” Chirag Paswan, mourning the death of his father last week, told NDTV.
Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who founded the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) now led by Chirag Paswan, passed away last Thursday after a heart operation.
After 37-year-old Chirag Paswan announced his decision to compete separately from the NDA, emphasizing that he remained committed to his alliance with the BJP but would fight Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Janata Dal United, many in the coalition. ruler suggested that his father would. I have never tolerated it.
BJP leaders like Sushil Kumar Modi, the deputy chief minister, openly said that if Ram Vilas Paswan had been active, he would never have decided to go against Nitish Kumar and fight alone.
However, two-time Lok Sabha MP Chirag Paswan said it was his father who pushed him towards his decision.
“This was his biggest dream, that the match would be played alone. He told me in 2005 that I made the decision. You are young, why don’t you make the decision?”
He said that many BJP leaders, such as Minister of State Nityanand Rai and Shahnawaz Husain, had spoken with Ram Vilas Paswan in recent months and had learned of his wish.
“It was very clear. He told me very categorically, if today because of him the current Chief Minister (Nitish Kumar) continues for the next five years, he will regret it 10 to 15 years later that because of him the state I had to suffer for five more years Chirag Paswan said.
Nitish Kumar continuing as Chief Minister “would be a disaster,” said Paswan senior, according to him. “He was the one who pushed me here,” he said.
On his father’s death, just before a crucial career-defining choice for him, Chirag Paswan said: “I miss him so much. I don’t think anyone can be prepared for a situation like this. To be honest, right now I just wasn’t there. prepared. The elections are there and he is not present … He was my pillar of strength. Only by that virtue could I fight against the world. But I will continue to do so. Not that anything has weakened me. I continue to draw strength from him .. . “
For the LJP, which has seen its main Dalit vote bank erode over the years, it is a great risk to compete alone. The Paswans largely blame Nitish Kumar for undermining their base of support over the years, and for them, partnering with him was unsustainable. Many believe that the BJP sees the LJP as a good complement to keep Nitish Kumar at bay, even though the party has openly sided with the Chief Minister. The LJP is no longer part of the NDA in Bihar, the BJP has said, but it remains an ally at the center.
Bihar will vote on October 28, November 3 and 7. The results on November 10 will show whether Chirag Paswan’s gamble paid off.
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