Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswan on Friday expressed gratitude to RJD chief Lalu Prasad and said that the support he received from the veteran leader “meant a lot to him”. On being asked about a possible alliance with Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar, Paswan kept the tie-up option opened and said, “One can never say never in politics”.
Lalu Prasad had recently backed Jamui MP Paswan, who has been deserted by five MPs of his LJP led by his uncle Pashupati Kuma Paras, saying that the young parliamentarian has emerged as leader despite the feud. “People have rallied around him,” the former Bihar chief minister had said, while favouring an alliance between the LJP leader and his party which is being now led for all practical purposes by his son Tejashwi Yadav.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Paswan, who is on his Ashirvad Yatra across Bihar to get support from people, said, “I am very happy with the crowd response. I am elated to see the huge attraction of youth [towards the yatra], who have been asking questions on poor health and education. I see every reason to stay put in Bihar whether there is election or no election.”
On being asked about Lalu Prasad’s support for him, he said, “I am very grateful to Lalu Prasad for his praise. His words about Dalits being in solidarity with me means a lot.”
When asked about the possible future alliance between him and Tejashwi Yadav in Bihar, he said, “I always had good rapport with Tejashwi, whom I call my younger brother. Both of us have time in hand… And one never says never in politics.”
During the conversation, Paswan avoided to say anything against the BJP. He had earlier hinted at his disillusionment with the BJP which has kept silent over the crisis in his party despite his unreserved adulation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Paswan’s estranged uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras, along with four other LJP MPs, staged a political coup in June when they broke away voicing disapproval of Chirag’s stance towards the JD(U). Paras replaced Chirag as the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha and was elected national president of the breakaway faction.
The uncle and the nephew seem poised for a long legal and political battle with the former appearing to have the cadres support but the latter capturing the public imagination as the heir to Ram Vilas Paswan, one of the tallest Dalit leaders of his generation.
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