Why the BJP has chosen Chirag Paswan over his uncle, Union minister Pashupati Paras

By taking Chirag's party into the NDA fold, the son rather than the brother has been anointed as the true heir to Ram Vilas Paswan's political legacy

Uncle-nephew fights aren’t uncommon in Indian politics. Maharashtra recently witnessed one when Ajit Pawar split the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founded by his uncle Sharad Pawar. Bihar, too, witnessed a similar no-holds-barred turf war between another uncle-nephew duo—Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras and Chirag Paswan.

Pashupati Paras (left) and Chirag Paswan (right) (File Photos)

Paras was the Union minister for food processing, a portfolio that his brother Ram Vilas Paswan held in the Narendra Modi government till his death in 2020. On Tuesday, he resigned after being overlooked by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the NDA’s seat-sharing formula. Paras accused the BJP of doing "injustice" with his Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party by excluding it from the seat-sharing deal with allies for the Lok Sabha polls in Bihar.

Paras had been a minister in the Bihar government as well. He was elected as the Lok Janshakti Party president replacing Chirag Paswan in June 2021. He was a member of the Bihar assembly since 1977 (with a break from 1980 to 1985) winning seven times from Alaluli. He was elected as a member of the 17th Lok Sabha in 2019 from the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat, which became a bone of contention with his nephew, Chirag.

The BJP announcement of seat sharing in Bihar leaves Paras, the estranged uncle of Chirag Paswan, who controls a faction of the Lok Janshakti Party, politically isolated. The 71-year-old, who barely three years ago appeared to hold all the cards, splitting the LJP and being rewarded with a berth in Modi's cabinet, is now fighting for political survival. Though Paras enjoyed the support of five of the six Lok Sabha MPs of the LJP till some time ago, not one accompanied him to the press conference he held on March 19.

With his resignation, the game of one-upmanship between the two LJP factions comes to an end. The party split in 2021.

Though the BJP rewarded Paras with a Union cabinet berth for his loyalty, it never dumped Chirag. In October 2021, the Election Commission separated the names and election symbols of the warring LJP factions. Paras headed the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, which had the support of five MPs of the erstwhile LJP. Chirag headed the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas). The separation sealed the Paras-Chirag rivalry.

According to a senior BJP leader who did not wish to be named, the party realised that Paras, without the following of his late brother or the political guile of his estranged nephew, may ultimately become a mill around the neck for the BJP.

What’s more, Chirag proved his worth in the two assembly by-polls of 2022 in Kurhani and Gopalganj, where he was one of the key factors for NDA’s win.

What also tilted the balance in Chirag’s favour is that he is largely seen to have inherited the largest chunk of his father’s vote in Bihar. The 19.65% Scheduled Caste population in Bihar is divided among 22 sub-castes, but Chirag’s importance lies in the fact that the Paswan community —core supporters of Ram Vilas — are believed to be a transferable voting bloc. The saffron party appears to have factored the Paswan vote before dropping Paras.,

“Among the Paswan voters, acceptance of Chirag Paswan is any day bigger than his uncle,” the senior state BJP leader quoted above said.

The last assembly polls in the state made it clear that the 6% Paswan vote rallied to Chirag, who had walked out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in 2020 and contested the Bihar Assembly elections that year on his own. In 2021, the BJP sided with Paras in his battle for Paswan’s legacy with his nephew, leaving Chirag isolated.

The BJP’s dumping of Paras could pitch the uncle and nephew in Hajipur, Samastipur, Vaishali. Paras has said repeatedly that he will fight from the Hajipur seat — which Ram Vilas Paswan won eight times and is considered to be a home turf for the Paswans — which means a direct confrontation between the two is on the cards.