Big jolt for Lok Janshakti Party as MPs join hands to oust Chirag Paswan

New Delhi, June 14: In major jolt for the Lok Janshakti Party, founded in 2000 by the late Ram Vilas Paswan, five out of six party MPs in the Lok Sabha have joined hands to oust Chirag Paswan as their leader in the House. They have elected his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras in his place.

The group of MPs has conveyed their decision to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. There has been no official word from either Chirag Paswan, who has not been keeping well, or the rebel group so far.

The rebel group, includes MPs Prince Raj, Chandan Singh, Veena Devi and Mehboob Ali Kaiser. They have unhappy with Chirag Paswan's style of functioning. Chirag Paswan has now been left virtually isolated at the top after taking on the mantle following his father Ram Vilas Paswan's death in 2020.

Reportedly, Chirag Paswan visited his uncle in Delhi who is reported to have engineered the split in the party.

"There are 6 MPs in our party. It was the desire of 5 MPs to save our party. So, I have not broken the party, I've saved it. Chirag Paswan is my nephew as well as party's national president. I have no objection against him," LJP MP Pashupati Kumar Paras told ANI.

"5 MPs have submitted letter to the Speaker, we will go and meet him as and when he orders," he added.

Pashupati Kumar Paras when asked if he met JD(U) leaders said that "No. This is 100% wrong. LJP is our party, the organisation is strong in Bihar. I was with NDA and I will continue to be a part of the alliance."

However, the LJP has blamed the JDU for the split, saying the party had long been working to isolate the Chirag after his decision to go all out against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the 2020 assembly polls damaged the ruling party badly.

The rebel group may back the JDU in the coming days.

It may be recalled that Keshav Singh, a former general secretary of the Bihar unit of the LJP, had lodged a police complaint against party president Chirag Paswan accusing him of having links with underground Maoist outfits.

Keshav Singh was expelled from the party last week after he issued a number of statements in the media criticising Paswan for pulling out of the NDA and going solo in Bihar assembly election.

The LJP had fought the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019 as an NDA ally. as many as 208 leaders and activists quit the LJP to join JD(U) holding Chirag Paswan responsible for the party's humiliating defeat in the Bihar elections.