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I have no reason to ally with BJP, neither they have vision nor leaders in Bihar, said Lok Janshakti (Ramvilas) party president Chirag Paswan in an interview with The Hindu, days after reconfiguring the political equation in Bihar. He also predicted an early collapse of the latest alliance of Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal, forcing by-elections.
While ruling out an alliance with the BJP, Mr Paswan said his party would not contest the next round of Assembly and Lok Sabha elections alone, hinting at a possible alliance with the RJD, in the event of an early divorce between the JD (U )-RJD.
Mr Paswan, as the national president of the Lok Janshakti Party in the 2020 assembly elections, had quit the NDA in revolt against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. But now that Mr. Kumar has quit the NDA, he is reluctant to return. “All these years BJP has worked as a subordinate partner of JD(U) in Bihar. Regardless of their electoral strength, they kneel before Nitish Kumar and offer him the Chief Minister’s chair on a platter. Why? Because BSP in the country has no leadership and vision!
In the 2020 Bihar assembly elections, the LJP managed to garner only 5.66 percent vote share, winning one seat. The lone MLA who won under the LJP symbol soon switched sides to the JD(U). Now, with a split in the party, Mr Paswan, who wants to position himself as the political successor to his father Ramvilas Paswan, does not want to repeat the 2020 strategy.
“My party will contest the election in a union, but we will cross the bridge when we come to it. I am the son of Mausam Vigyanik (Ramvilas Paswan was called the wind vane of Indian politics) so I can predict a few things (laughs). In order to predict the future, one must look at the past. In the last eight years, the Chief Minister has changed alliances three times and so I don’t see the current one surviving for long. I will not be surprised if the political equations in Bihar change again by the 2024 general elections,” he added.
Excerpts from the interview
Days after Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Nitish Kumar returned to the Bihar chief minister’s chair for the eighth time – this time forming a government in alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) – Mr Paswan spoke to The Hindu on speculation about his return to the National Democratic Alliance and his political predictions for the state.
In 2020, you quit the BJP-led NDA, primarily opposing Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar. Now that he is off the NDA, will you go back to him [the NDA]?
Of course not! The reason I quit NDA was not the man, Nitish Kumar – it was his ideology and style of work. He has been the Chief Minister of Bihar for almost two decades, but his much-touted program of “ beggar hour‘ or ‘seven promises’ is only to provide basic needs of the state, which the government is bound to do anyway. Unfortunately in Bihar the government may change but the chief minister remains the same. Every time he [Mr. Kumar] resigns, he returns to the chairmanship with another deputy chief minister.
But what about the BJP? Are you ready to work with them considering you have declared yourself as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Hanuman’?
I will always have an emotional connection with Modi- gee because when my father was ill, he was by my side. He called me twice a day to ask about his health and our well-being. But let me clear the air about the “Hanuman” comment. During the 2020 Bihar election campaign, some JD(U) leaders started complaining that I was using the Prime Minister’s photos even though I was outside the NDA — to which I said I don’t need to upload his photos because he is there in my heart. This was the root of the label ‘Hanuman’.
But from a political point of view, what is stopping you from approaching the BJP?
Because BJP has no vision for my state. All these years they have worked as a subordinate partner of JD(U) in Bihar. Regardless of their electoral strength, they kneel before Nitish Kumar and offer him the chief minister’s chair in a casserole. Why? Because BJP in the state has no leadership and no vision!
Given the circumstances under which LJP split – the way you had to vacate the bungalow at 12, Janpath, where your family lived for three decades; and the accommodation of your uncle Pashupati Nath Paras but not you in the Union cabinet – do you feel bitter about the BJP?
I am not bitter about BJP. But I will not say that I have a big heart and can forget and forgive everything. Of course it hurt when these events happened. If they wanted to, they could have done better, which was not done.
How do you reconcile your devotion to Mr. Modi with his remarks against nepotism and dynastic politics in his Independence Day address?
I believe that the people of the country are the ultimate arbiters – if you have potential, they will accept you or you will be rejected outright. My birth is my fortune, but it alone will not determine my destiny. Actually, people like me have a different struggle. I don’t have to compete with anyone but my father. I will always be rated against Ramvilas Paswan. They say Ramvilas- gee was a friendly person but Chirag is arrogant. That he was accessible and I’m hard to reach. Every day you have to fight your father’s shadow to prove yourself.
You say you will not ally with BJP. So, will you be contesting the next round of National Assembly and Lok Sabha elections alone?
No. My party will contest the election in a union, but we will cross the bridge when we come to it. I am the son of mausam vigyanik‘ [Ramvilas Paswan was referred to as the weathervane of Indian politics], so I can predict a few things (laughs). In order to predict the future, one must look at the past. For the past eight years, the Chief Minister [Nitish Kumar] has changed alliances three times, so I don’t see the current one surviving long. I won’t be surprised if the political equations in Bihar change by the time of 2024 general elections. And I believe we will have assembly by-elections in Bihar soon, it may even happen before 2024 elections or it will be held at the same time. My predictions are based on one simple fact – my younger brother, [Deputy CM] Tejashwi [Yadav], needs only two more seats in the Bihar Assembly to be the Chief Minister. The day he [Mr. Yadav] the Chief Minister begins to assert himself [Mr. Kumar] won’t like it. He [Mr. Kumar] will begin to feel “humiliated”, “suffocated”, etc. These symptoms will return very soon.
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