Chirag Paswan to field candidates in Bihar by-polls amidst tussle with LJP

With by-polls nearing, now-ousted Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Chirag Paswan on Saturday said that his party, 'the real LJP', will be fielding candidates in two Bihar Assembly seats - Tarapur in Munger district and Kusheshwar Sthan of Darbhanga. Speaking to the media, the MP said that the party will decide on the candidate and the strategies at the 'right time'. 

After Chirag gave this statement, a leader from the Pashupati Paras faction, Shravan Agarwal, said to a leading daily,

"It would be very puerile on the part of the Chirag group to think of contesting polls. At present, Pashupati Kumar Paras is the national president and has the right to distribute the symbol. Let them come to EC, we will contest its claims.”

The fight for the party leadership has reignited days after Chirag Paswan invited Pashupati Paras to an event organized to mark the first death anniversary of late party founder Ram Vilas Paswan, which was accepted by the latter and seen as a 'step towards a good start'. Thereafter, there was a brief family reunion at the event, in line with Paras' claim that 'the family environment is different from the political environment'. 

Chirag vs Pashupati Paras - All you need to know 

For months now, Chirag Paswan has been in a tussle of power for LJP, the party his late father and MP Ram Vilas Paswan formed with Pashupati Kumar Paras. Pashupati Kumar Paras, along with five other MPs, had met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and handed over a letter to him seeking the removal of Chirag Paswan as party chief and Lok Sabha Parliamentary party leader. Accepting the letter, Om Birla had declared Pashupati Kumar Paras as the leader of the LJP in the Lower House. 

Later, Chirag Paswan had written to Om Birla stating that the declaration of Pashupati Kumar Paras as the leader of the house was against the provision of the constitution. He had also approached PM Modi but when no help was extended, he came out to express his dissatisfaction out in the open. He said, "The silence of the BJP has certainly made me sad". 

BJP, a few weeks later, conducted a cabinet rejig and named Pashupati as the Minister of Food Processing Industries, much to the displeasure of Chirag Paswan.