A closer look at Paswan's career would reveal that he is not stubbornly attached to any philosophy. He belongs to that league of politicians who believe that ideologies can be changed as per convenience.
In 2005, Paswan was at the peak of his popularity in Bihar when he had got the keys to government formation. Paswan's party LJP had won 29 seats out of a total of 243 seats in Bihar assembly. The assembly results had thrown a fragmented assembly and both BJP and JD(U) had offered him to form the govt.
Ram Vilas Paswan at that time had insisted on a Muslim Chief Minister and refused to play ball with either BJP or JD(U). With an eye on around 16 percent Muslim vote bank in Bihar, he wanted to position himself as the next messiah of Muslim community.
He knew that with 29 seats he was not in a position to offer a stable government. He then thought about consolidating his standing in the Muslim community by insisting on a Muslim CM that even he knew, nobody was going to accept. Obviously, Paswan was positioning himself for the next assembly elections.
But all his calculations went awry in the next assembly elections as Nitish Kumar in alliance with BJP romped home comfortably and formed the government in Bihar.
