‘She has first claim’: Chirag Paswan floats his mother’s name for Hajipur seat

Ram Vilas Paswan, who founded the Lok Janshakti Party, represented Hajipur Lok Sabha seat nine times. In 2019, the party fielded Chirag Paswan’s uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras from the seat

PATNA: Lok Sabha member from Jamui, Chirag Paswan, who heads Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) faction of the party founded by his father, on Monday said his party will field candidates from six parliamentaary seats in Bihar next year and that his mother Reena Paswan should contest as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate from Hajipur Lok Sabha seat.

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan speaks to the media at Parliament House during the Monsoon Session, in New Delhi on July 31 (ANI FILE)

Hajipur Lok Sabha seat, the pocket borough of the family, was represented by his father Ram Vilas Paswan nine times. Chiraj Paswan’s estranged uncle and union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, fought from the seat in the 2019 elections and won. The LJP split after Ram Vilas Paswan death in 2020; Paras heads the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party.

Chirag Paswan told reporters on Monday that his mother had the first claim to contest from Hajipur.

“As the sitting MP, it is natural for him (Paras) to stake claim to the seat. But for us, Hajipur has an emotional pull. I consider the land as my mother. In the absence of my father, it is natural for me that I take care of the constituency the way my late father did in his life time… A final decision is yet to be taken within the alliance (NDA) on seat sharing and candidature. But I want my mother (Reena Paswan) to contest from there (Hajipur). After my father, she has the first claim on that seat,” he said.

The two LJP factions are part of the NDA. In 2019, the united LJP won six Lok Sabha seats in Bihar as an NDA constituent.

Pashupati Kumar Paras has often claimed that he contested from Hajipur at the insistence of his elder brother Ramvilas Paswan, who said he, and not Chirag Paswan, was his “political heir”.

On Sunday, Chirag Paswan told a gathering in Jamui that he will not back down. “I came here as a youngster and will be here till I grow old,” said the younger Paswan, who first won the seat in 2014.

Bihar BJP spokesperson Prem Ranjan Patel said the issue will be sorted out. “NDA is united and any issue within the alliance will be sorted. As far as LJP is concerned , it is their internal issue and we are confident they will also resolve the issue before elections.”