Pashupati Paras is LJP’s leader in Lok Sabha

New Delhi, June 14: Pashupati Paras has been unanimously elected as the leader of the LJP in the Lok Sabha. The decision comes a day after 5 LJP MLAs out of the six joined hands against the party's chief Chirag Paswan.

With five MPs breaking away from the LJP, Chirag Paswan has been left isolated at the top. He has also written to the Lok Sabha speaker asking the breakaway faction to be treated as a separate group. Reports say Chirag Paswan visited his uncle in Delhi who is reported to have engineered the split in the party.

The LJP has six MPs in the Lok Sabha including Paswan. The rebels have called for a new leader in the place of Paswan who is the son of the party's founder the late Ram Vilas Paswan.

The revolt is led by Paswan's uncle Pasupati Kumar Paras who is the younger brother of the senior Paswan. The uncle and nephew were not on talking terms and Paras a first time MP from Hajipur was promised a place in the Union Cabinet by Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar.

Reports say that Nitish Kumar had already been working on the five MPs of the LJP. The rebels Prince Raj, Chandan Singh, Veena Devi and Mehboob Ali Kaiser may also support the Chief Minister. Paras said this morning that there are six MPs in the party and it as the desire of the five MPs to save the party. I have not split the party, but saved it. He said he is with the NDA alliance. Nitish Kumar is a good leader, he added while also stating that Chirag is his nephew as well as the national president of the party.