I'm still LJP President: Chirag Paswan asks election proof from Pashupati Paras; meets EC

Refuting claims of Pashupati Paras coming out victorious in an election held on June 17, Chirag Paswan on Thursday challenged the opposite faction to produce 'proof'. Chirag, who had gone to meet the Election Commission officials, asserted that as per the constitution (of LJP), he was still the president of the party. Talking about his meeting with the EC officials, he added that he has requested to allow him to 'another chance' so that he can produce all the documents that they need to ascertain his position as the party president in the parliament. 

'Elections for the post of President held; Pashupati Paras wins' 

The statement of Chirag comes after there was a scoop that the election to the post of president was held on Thursday. Addressing the media, party leader Sanjay Sarraf informed that between Pashupati Paras and nephew Chirag Paswan, the former has come out victorious with the trust of 75 percent of people who cast their votes. The party has reportedly submitted the results to the Election Commission.

The constitutional- unconstitutional debate of LJP 

On Thursday, Chirag Paswan had termed his uncle Pashupati Paras' election as the LJP President ‘unconstitutional’. “The country runs according to a constitution... if you don't follow it, you can’t run any organization," he added. "Only nine people were present in the meeting on Thursday, so how was the election possible? Elections held due to lack of information are against the constitution of our party. They do not even have the right to call a meeting,” he said.

This of course did not go down well with Uncle Pashupati Paras who reiterated that Chirag Paswan was no longer 'a parliamentary leader and president of  LJP'. He asserted that the party in particular and the country in general works on the basis of the Constitution, and 'Chirag's opinion does not matter'. He added," He does not even know about the Constitution."

LJP family crisis

Earlier this week, Chirag Paswan was removed from the post of LJP national president after Paras called an emergency meeting of the party's national working committee. The decision was taken at a meeting of five LJP MPs at the residence of Pashupati Kumar Paras in Delhi. The five LJP MPs had met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and handed over a letter to him regarding the removal of party chief Chirag Paswan from the position of Lok Sabha Parliamentary party leader.

Notably, within a year of the demise of LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan, son Chirag is facing opposition from within the party. LJP is currently a part of the National Democratic Alliance at the Centre. LJP was formed by the late Ram Vilas Paswan in 2000. Paswan, a heavyweight leader in Bihar politics, passed away in October 2020.