PATNA:
Lok Janshakti Party
(Ram Vilas) president and parliamentarian
Chirag Paswan
on Thursday filed his
nomination
for Hajipur— the seat his father late Ram Vilas Paswan represented for a record eight times in the past— amid his uncle and former union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras staying away from the function.
Paras, the president of the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) who currently represents this seat in Lok Sabha, was allotted no seat to contest by the NDA this time.
Chirag, who was accompanied by his mother and local NDA leaders held a massive road show in
Hajipur
before filing his nomination papers in the local collectorate.
“I will serve you as a son of Hajipur, not as a leader,” Chirag who currently represents Jamui in the Lok Sabha told a rally after filing his papers. “This is the first time my father is not around when I am filing my papers although he was there to bless me both in 2014 and 2019,” he said.
Stating that his father remained quite concerned about the people of Hajipur till his last breath, Chirag announced to fulfill the unfinished tasks of his father.
“Now, it is my responsibility to take care of his (political)
legacy
,” he declared, stating he still vividly recalls the day, June 13, 2021, when both his family and party were split, leaving him out in the cold.
“At that time, I didn’t know if I would have any political existence in the days to come the way everything was snatched away from me— my party, my MPs, my family and also the election symbol of my party, which my father had given me…But when I visited Hajipur, you didn’t let me feel the absence of my father,” he said, trying hard to strike an emotional bond with the people of Hajipur. He asked the masses to give their blessing if they feel he can serve them like his father.
The battle for Paswan’s political legacy fiercely began soon after his death in October 2020 as his uncle Paras staked claim over this with the support of five of the six party MPs. The BJP had initially thrown its weight behind Paras who was inducted as a Cabinet minister in the Narendra Modi govt soon after the party split but now in a significant development, the party has decided to back Chirag, apparently finding that the latter enjoys the support of the dalits.
Chirag said he would have felt happy and forgotten all the bitterness of the past had his uncle joined his nomination filing ceremony, but his absence shows he still hates him. RLJP’s spokesperson Shravan Agarwal said Paras was not even invited to the function. “This was quite humiliating,” Agarwal alleged.
The battle for Hajipur has turned interesting now with Chirag throwing his hat in the ring, finally. He is locked in a direct fight with RJD’s Shivchandra Ram. This seat has become a matter of prestige for Chirag now.
