Uncle vs Nephew Again In Bihar's Lok Janshakti Party, BJP Wants A Merger

New Delhi:

The split of the late Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party -- once instrumental in cutting down Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United and giving the BJP the upper hand -- is now proving a headache for the BJP. The party wants both factions under a single umbrella to prevent a split in the Paswan votes.

Two days ago, the BJP's Union Minister Nityanand Rai met both factions and pitched the idea of a merger. But Paswan's brother, Pashupati Nath Paras, currently the Minister of Food Processing Industries in the Central government, has turned it down.

Mr Paras said he had a "good talk" with Nityanand Rai. "He said uncle, nephew, get together, I said it is not possible. When things go wrong, when the milk curdles, no matter how hard you try, you get no butter," he added.

The BJP has invited Chirag Paswan to participate on the mega meeting with allies on July 18.

The faction led by Pashupati Paras said they will not oppose Chirag Paswan's entry into NDA, but they would not welcome him either.

Asked about his nephew's presence in the meeting, Mr Paras told reporters: "Chirag Paswan is not a partner of NDA now. He is isolated since the assembly elections of 2020".

"This is election year. Every party wants to add more people... So Chirag Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi have been invited. People will come to the meeting, which is a good thing. What will happen depends on the outcome of the meeting."

The uncle and nephew are currently caught in a battle over the Hajipur seat - both aiming to claim Ram Vilas Paswan's legacy.

In his lifetime, the seat was Ram Vilas Paswan's stronghold. In 2019, Mr Paras won from here and Chirag Paswan from Jamui. Mr Paras now refuses to give up the seat for his nephew.

"The question that should be asked is why is that when your father was alive, you were asked to contest from Jamui and not from Hajipur," added Mr Paras, whose faction has five MPs.

He even accused his nephew of sympathising with Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal. "Have you ever seen Chirag Paswan opposing Lalu-ji, opposing Tejashwi Yadav?" he said.