By Ajay Kumar
In the third week of June, Chirag Paswan lost his political status within his own party, thanks to his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras who was instrumental in the coup over becoming president of the party founded by Late Ram Vilas Paswan.
The overall series of events could be a learning experience for other political parties and individual leaders who indulge in negative politics.
The negativity in Chirag Paswan’s politics first appeared during Bihar assembly election 2020 when he decided to contest on his own, and tried to inflict the maximum damage to the Janata Dal United (JDU). He had then openly supported the BJP and declared himself as Hanuman of PM Narendra Modi.
Chirag Paswan was forced to leave the NDA due to his single point agenda of hurting the JDU, though both BJP and JDU are part of the NDA. Chirag’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) put up candidates on 143 seats and most of them against the JDU.
The LJP’s gameplan reduced the JDU to 43 seats in 2020 assembly election while its seats in 2015 polls were 69. Such an approach hurt Chirag Paswan more, with his party managing to win just one seat in 2020 polls. Later, the lone LJP MLA Raj Kumar Singh, who won from Matihani constituency, shook hands with JDU boss Nitish Kumar.
“During Bihar assembly election 2020, we were wanting to contest the poll under the NDA, just like the parliamentary election. Chirag objected to it and decided to go alone in assembly election and could win just one seat. The party has been wiped out politically. The party workers and leaders are angry over his decision,” Pashupati Kumar Paras said while pointing towards the negative politics of Chirag Paswan during the assembly election.
Amid political unrest in LJP, Chirag Paswan openly alleged that JDU leaders were behind the scene, working against him and breaking the party.
RJD also levelled similar allegations against JDU. Shyam Rajak, the national general secretary of RJD said: “Nitish Kumar is the architect behind split between Chirag Paswan and Pashupati Kumar Paras.”
Responding to it, JDU national president R.C.P. Singh said that Chirag Paswan is only reaping what he has sown.
“Chirag Paswan has done so many blunders in the recent past. The people of Bihar and his own party workers and leaders were not happy with whatever he did during the Bihar assembly election. Now, the result is the split in the party,” Singh said.
He further said that digesting success is not an easy thing for all. You can achieve something but to maintain requires acumen. Chirag Paswan failed on this count. He has done just the opposite of his father Late Ram Vilas Paswan who never believed in sabotaging others. He had an ideology of maintaining a coalition dharma. On the other hand, Chirag did just reverse his father’s ideology and is now paying the price for it.
He has been doing negative politics since the death of his father. As a result, four MPs and his uncle Pasupati Kumar Paras left him.
Umesh Kushwaha, state president of JDU said: “Chirag Paswan set his own house on fire, hence, a coup by his own uncle. Pashupati Kumar Paras has not criticized CM Nitish Kumar. He did not indulge in negative politics.”
Kanhaiya Kumar, the former JNU student union president and communist leader, said, “The real player in the entire episode was the BJP. The saffron party is trying to create rift among those who are known for their ideology of social justice in Bihar. Nitish Ji, Lalu Ji and Ram Vilas Ji were on one side fighting for social justice. Later on, they were made to split over their political interest. BJP leaders cashed on it to derive maximum gain.”
“People are blaming the JDU but the real force behind it is the BJP. They want complete power in Bihar through divide and rule policy,” Kanhaiya Kumar said.
Source: IANS
