Chirag Paswan
In what could be seen as a desparate attempt to reconcile things within the party, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) party leader Chirag Paswan on Tuesday made an emotional appeal in a recent tweet and has also shared an old letter where he urged his uncle & LJP MP Pashupati Kumar Paras to take responsibility to keep the party united like his late father Ram Vilas Paswan.
"I tried but failed to keep this party created by my father and my family. Party is like mother and she should not be cheated. People are paramount in democracy. I thank the people who have faith in the party. I share an old letter," tweeted Chirag.
Paswan junior on Monday found himself in muddy waters when five of the six Lok Janshakti Party MPs in Lok Sabha joined hands against him and elected Pashupati Kumar Paras, the youngest brother Ram Vilas Paswan.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat on Monday evening recognised Paras as the leader of the LJP in the House, a day after the five MPs informed Speaker Om Birla about their decision.
Paras lauded Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as a good leader and "vikas purush" (development-oriented man), highlighting the deep fault lines within the party as his nephew has been a strong critic of the supreme JD(U) leader.
"I have not broken the party but saved it," Paras, the MP from Hajipur, told reporters.
He asserted that 99 per cent of LJP workers were unhappy with the turn of events in Bihar as Paswan led his party against the JD(U) and it fared poorly in the 2020 assembly polls.
The LJP has been on the brink of collapse, he said in reference to its poor show in the polls, and lashed out at "anti-social" elements in the party, an apparent pointer to a close aide of Paswan whose proximity to him has not gone down well with many party leaders.
