News Analysis India

Tag: Bihar politics

  • LJD split means Chirag Paswan to join forces with Tejashwi Yadav?

    Express News Service
    PATNA: In the wake of a spilt in Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) as a result of a feud in Paswan family, politics in Bihar is likely to get a new equation. The parties aligned with the opposition Mahagathbandhan are learnt to have started making efforts to bring Chirag Paswan- son of LJP founder (Late) Ram Vilas Paswan to their fold silently eyeing at the strong 6% vote bank of his party.

    Such a move would be possible when Chirag Paswan, is left fending for himself by the NDA allies post a leadership coup by his own uncle and Hajipur MP Pashupati Kumar Paras. Reliable sources said that a new equation can be developed with the joining of Chirag Paswan-led faction of LJP in Bihar to oust the NDA from office.

    “This might be RJD’s equation of MYP — Muslim, Yadav and Paswan — created against NDA. And if this political initiative succeeds, it could prove to be very damaging to the NDA”, said local political analysts.

    “Certainly, efforts are being taken for the emergence of a new equation-MYP, which will prove hard to handle for the NDA as Muslim constitutes 17 % of electoral strength of state followed by 16 by Yadav and 6 % by Paswan”, observed political observer Arun Kumar Pandey.

    More than 25 lakhs votes were polled to the LJP in the 2020 assembly elections under the leadership of Chirag Paswan securing 6% votes. The speculation for the emergence of new MY-P equation is rife in the political circles of both NDA and the Mahagathbandhan. 

    Observers think the current situation gives Chirag Paswan the option of being a part of opposition politics now, which will help him ahead in the elections. “If NDA government collapse and mid-term elections become unavoidable, the MY-P equation, subject to its formation depending upon future political alignments, will have a major edge over the NDA”, said AK Mishra, another political analyst.

  • Legal battle against rebel LJP leaders to go on, vows cornered Chirag Paswan

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Left to fend for himself by his party, Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan on Wednesday said in Delhi that his legal fight against the rebel group will continue. Describing himself as ‘sher ka beta’ (son of a lion), he accused his uncle Pashupati Paras and five party MPs of hatching a conspiracy against him and the party when he was unwell.

    The lawmaker from Jamui in Bihar blamed the Nitish Kumar-led JD-U for engineering a split in his party, but avoided replying to questions on the BJP’s role. He rejected the decisions taken by the faction headed by his uncle, saying the party’s constitution did not allow Paras and others to take such steps.

    Chirag said he did not feel orphaned after the death of his father last year, but feels like one after a faction of the party led by his uncle removed him from the post of parliamentary leader. He said many in the LJP wanted to side with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar during the Assembly polls last year. These people were in favour of the “politics of comfort”, he alleged. “If I had to do the same, I would have had to bow before Nitish Kumar. I could not do that,” said Paswan.

    Referring to the five LJP MPs who sought his removal as LJP president, Chirag claimed the party constitution did not permit this action. A new party chief can be appointed in case of the incumbent’s death or resignation, he said.

    In his letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker, Paswan wrote: “Since Article 26 of the LJP constitution empowers the Central Parliamentary Board of the party to decide who will be Leader of our Party in Lok Sabha, hence, the decision of announcing Pashupati Kumar Paras MP as leader of the party in the Lok Sabha is contrary to the provisions of the party constitution.”

  • LJP getting rid of Chirag Paswan works in favour of Nitish Kumar

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: With the BJP seemingly caught unawares, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appears to have cut his challenger Chirag Paswan to the size, after five MPs of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) in a dramatic turn of events, elected Pashupati Paras, who’s known for his close ties with the JD (U), as its new leader on Monday in the nation`al capital. 

    At a time Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with senior ministers and the BJP chief JP Nadda, is busy reviewing performances of the ministries, the rebellion within the LJP is a shot in the arm for the Bihar chief minister, strengthening JD (U)’s stock and negotiating depth within the NDA for the Cabinet expansion at the Centre. 

    Paras, younger brother of the LJP founder and former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, is seen within political circles as being close to the Bihar chief minister. While the Bihar verdict last year had left JD (U) at the third spot, the NDA allies, Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP) and Hindustan Awami Mocrcha (HAM), have been keeping the chief minister edgy with their statements. Though the LJP makes no numerical changes in the Bihar Assembly equations, the five MPs block of the LJP expressing their full support to Kumar may make the chief minister fancy weaning away legislators from the opposition camps in the coming days. 

    READ HERE | Pashupati Kumar Paras elected LJP leader in Lok Sabha after rebel MPs seek ouster of Chirag Paswan

    After Chirag Paswan ran a bitter campaign against the Bihar chief minister during the 2020 Assembly elections, the BJP was forced to publicly denounce the LJP. The JD (U) had been assertively stating that LJP wasn’t part of the NDA even while BJP had been avoiding clarifying the position. 

    Unlike 2019, when the then BJP chief Amit Shah had offered one Cabinet berth to the JD (U), the LJP removing Chirag Paswan and expressing full support to Kumar may help him negotiate hard during the expansion of the Union Council of ministers. Also, the turn of events in the LJP is likely to change the social chemistry in Bihar, with the OBC-Muslim-Dalit combination boosting the confidence of the chief minister. With the Bihar unit of the BJP lacking a credible local face and the party banking on the Prime Minister’s appeal, political observers note that Kumar may gain the upper hand in his equations with the saffron outfit in the coming months.

  • Pashupati Kumar Paras elected LJP leader in Lok Sabha after rebel MPs seek ouster of Chirag Paswan

    Express News Service
    PATNA: In what appears to be a carefully planned move, five of the six MPs of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) on Monday united against LJP founder late Ram Vilas Paswan’s son Chirag Paswan and elected Pashupati Kumar Paras as their leader. 

    Paras is the youngest brother of the late leader. 

    This is part of a series of moves in the LJP which have jolted party scion Chirag Paswan. 

    Chirag’s unceremonious removal comes after months of disgruntlement among other party leaders who felt the young politician’s functioning was autocratic. According to sources, the five MPs held a secret meeting on Saturday evening to give finishing touches to their plan. Later, they submitted a letter to Lok

    Chirag PaswanSabha speaker Om Birla demanding recognition for the new LJP faction with Paras as its national president. 

    “I have not executed a spilt in the party. Rather, I have saved the party so that it doesn’t deviate from the path shown by late Ram Vilas Paswan,” Paras told reporters. He added that 99% LJP leaders and workers wanted to contest the last Bihar Assembly election as an NDA ally but Chirag decided to go in the opposite direction. “As a result, the LJP suffered a lot politically, virtually reducing the party base in Bihar to zero. Now, we will be with the NDA in Bihar and the Centre,” Paras said.

    ALSO READ | Chirag Paswan has reaped what he had sown: JDU after fallout in LJP

    Expressing the new line of the party, Paras also lauded Bihar CM Nitish Kumar as ‘vikas purush’.Earlier in the day, Chirag tried to meet his uncle but was made to wait at the gate for over 15 minutes before he was let in. He spent nearly two hours there but could not meet Paras as he was not at home. 

  • Union Cabinet expansion: Chirag Paswan’s loss could be gain for JDU 

    Express News Service
    PATNA: Bihar’s political circle is abuzz as the ruling JD-U is likely to get two ministerial berths in the NDA union cabinet.

    National president of the Janata Dal (United) RCP Singh had said on Saturday that his party, being a constituent of the NDA, deserves to get a berth if the Centre decides to expand the Union cabinet. 

    “Whenever there is an expansion, JD-U must get a share in the cabinet,” Singh, who is considered to be next to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the party, said.

    An internal source from the NDA said that the cabinet expansion is likely to be held and the ruling BJP wants to accommodate some allies in the cabinet.

    It is believed that JD-U will be given two berths in view of the forthcoming election in UP, where Kurmi votes are crucial in the eastern parts.

    NDA leaders in Bihar speculate two ministries – Consumer Affair, Food and Public Distribution and the Commerce and Industry – which are now managed by Railway minister Piyush Goyal, can go to Nitish’s party.

    Munger MP Rajiv Ranjan alias Lallan Singh and RCP Singh are likely to get the ministerial responsibilities.

    It was following the death of LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan that the charge of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution went to Piyush Goyal.

    “If Chirag Paswan is not accommodated following the protest of Bihar’s ruling ally JD-U in the cabinet, it is likely that both these berths may go to JD-U”, a reliable source from NDA said.

  • Lalu Prasad could return to Bihar politics after party meet

    Express News Service
    PATNA:  Come May 9, RJD chief Lalu Prasad may become active again in Bihar’s politics. He and his son Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar Assembly’s opposition leader, are set to appear in a virtual meeting with the party leaders and the MLAs.

    It is believed here that Lalu Prasad will return to his party’s active politics after years of gaps in Bihar. Lalu Prasad will be speaking from New Delhi, where he is now staying at residence of his elder daughter Dr Misa Bharti, days after he was granted bail in multiple cases of fodder scams.

    Enthused over getting to interact with the party’s boss on May 9, many RJD leaders said: “Ab khela hobe Bihar me (Now a game will be held in Bihar) after West Bengal with the start of first virtual meeting by ‘Sahab’”.The NDA government is surviving in Bihar with the supports of smaller allies, which have won the eight seats in the recent elections. 

    The RJD is learnt to be in effort as how to lure the smaller parties to the Mahagatvandhan. Sources, meanwhile, said that the posts of deputy chief minister can be offered by the Mahagatvandhan to the MLAs, who will like to come out from the NDA.

  • Game on, Bihar!: Lalu Prasad Yadav’s bail means sleepless nights ahead for Nitish government?

    Express News Service
    PATNA: After a long time, politics in Bihar is speculated to get a new turn with the release of imprisoned RJD chief Lalu Prasad. He was granted bail by the Jharkhand High Court in connection with the multi-crore fodder scam. 

    Known for turning the applecart of politics without giving an iota of hint to opponent, Lalu Prasad might pretend to remain ‘silent’ or ‘less-active’ in politics after return to Patna. But his political- intelligence cannot remain idle in the present context of Bihar politics. The former Chief Minister is a great political mathematician, adroit in political, what local analysts call, ‘Jor-Ghatao’ (addition and subtraction). He has acquired mastery in politics over how a subject can be converted into an issue of people.

    READ HERE: RJD upbeat as Lalu Prasad Yadav set to walk out of jail after Jharkhand HC grants bail

    Amid the surging COVID-19 crisis, how the news of Lalu Prasad’s release has brought gloom on the face of NDA leaders was evident. While the supporters of RJD supremo exhibited their jubilation, CM Nitish Kumar feigned ignorance on the matter and said, ‘Mujhe nahi malum hai. Chalo ye sab hote rahata hai’, (I have not come to know it. It keeps happening), while coming out from an all-party meet on Saturday.

    “Ab khela hobe Bihar me’ (Now game will happen in Bihar), was what Kedar Yadav-a die-hard supporter of Lalu Prasad jokingly expressed in jubilation. Bihar’s political corridors went pondering and predicting as to whether there will be a change in the political air of the state after he comes out of jail. Bihar’s many political pundits started predicting ‘something unusual’ to take place, maybe not sooner but certainly later.

    Many feel the return of Lalu may fall like a hammer on the stability of the ruling NDA government. “Even if Lalu Prasad’s silence may result into a twist in politics,giving hard times to Nitish Kumar- led government, which is surviving on the supports of two smaller allies”, said Ashok Kumar Mishra, a political commentator at Patna.

    When asked if political equations change in Bihar if Lalu Prasad Yadav comes out on bail, veteran political analyst and former director of AN Sinha Institute of Social Sciences DM Diwakar said: “Since Lalu Prasad is still considered as a leader of mass, his words and statements in politics are taken seriously by large sections of people and his political manoeuvring is well known to his all opponents”.

    It may be possible that due to his poor health, Lalu Prasad may not play from the front but his strategies will help the RJD in giving sleepless night to NDA. A tweet of Lalu’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav: “The messiah of poor, deprived and downtrodden people are coming out, Tell those who do injustice, our leader is coming”, speaks a lot of what is next on the agenda of RJD after Lalu’s return.

    Many political experts, who know Lalu’s political strategies, said that arrogant bureaucracy, COVID-crisis, prohibition and unemployment may be fanned to move the people against the ruling side. In state like Bihar, the growing anger against irresponsible bureaucrats can be used against the government by the RJD.

    ALSO READ | RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav granted bail, likely to get out of jail soon

    Dr RK Verma, acclaimed political analyst and honorary secretary of Bihar chapter of Indian Institute of Political administration, said:” Lalu’s appearance after being out on bail will strengthen the political forces-OBCs led by Yadav and Muslims. His presence will certainly be enough to sharpen the RJD’s further strategies against ruling alliance more aggressively”.

    For the last three decades, Lalu Prasad has been the axis of Bihar politics. But for RJD supporters, it was the sacred Saturday that proved lucky for bail to Lalu Prasad. Tejashwi Yadav, leader of opposition and Lalu’s younger son said that the bail to RJD chief was a victory of justice and reaffirms the trust of people in the judiciary. “But we will act as per the advice of doctors who are taking care of him in AIIMS”, he said.

    Sources said that either on Tuesday or Wednesday, Lalu Prasad will come out from judicial custody completing all legal formalities. “If doctors allow, he may come to Patna or otherwise continue under safe treatment in AIIMS”, said RJD sources.

  • After RLSP -JD(U) merger, Nitish Kumar rewards Upendra Kushwaha with top party post

    By PTI
    PATNA: Bihar’s ruling JD(U) on Sunday received a shot in the arm with the merger of RLSP of Upendra Kushwaha, a former protege of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who came back under his wing nine years after having fallen apart.

    The merger took place at the JD(U) state headquarters here, where the chief minister welcomed Kushwaha, a former Union minister, by presenting him with a bouquet.

    Top JD(U) leaders like Rajeev Ranjan Singh alias Lalan, Sanjay Kumar Jha and Vashisth Narayan Singh and key office bearers of the now dissolved RLSP like Madhaw Anand and Fazl Imam Mallick were also present.

    The much-anticipated reunion, likely to be mutually beneficial, comes on the back of hectic parleys between the two leaders in the recent past.

    Soon after he was inducted into the JD(U), Kumar announced Kushwaha’s appointment as the national parliamentary board president “with immediate effect”.

    Kushwaha, who brings on table his support base of the sizeable Koeri caste, vowed to make the JD(U) “the number one party” in Bihar and said that after having been witness to “many ups and downs” as the RLSP founding chief, he looked forward to making use of his experience under the guidance of Nitish Kumar.

    Kushwaha was in political wilderness since his exit from NDA in 2017.

    READ HERE | Friendship restored: Upendra Kushwaha announces official merger of RLSP with JDU in Bihar

    Feeling “stifled” in the RJD-led Grand Alliance, he quit the coalition ahead of the assembly elections last year and ended up facing political isolation notwithstanding the support of his Koeri community which is the second most populous OBC group in Bihar after the Yadavas.

    Kumar, who is serving his fourth consecutive term in power, has suffered a diminution in clout on account of the JD(U)’s unimpressive performance in the assembly elections which saw him lose the upper hand to the BJP.

    The chief minister, who has since relinquished the post of the JD(U) president, nonetheless enjoys supreme control over the party and has been busy consolidating his Luv-Kush (Kurmi-Koeri) base, in a bid to hold his own against the BJP juggernaut.

    Kumar himself is a Kurmi, a caste that is numerically small but very influential by virtue of being economically and educationally advanced.

    After cutting his teeth as a youth leader in the Lok Dal and Janata Dal, Kushwaha went on to become the deputy leader in the state assembly of the Samata Party, a breakaway group which Kumar had formed along with veteran socialist leader George Fernandes.

    ALSO READ | Protesting JDU merger, 35 senior RLSP leaders join RJD, attack Upendra Kushwaha

    By 2004, after the JD(U) an entity formed with the merger of Samata Party with Janata Dal’s splinter group headed by Sharad Yadav emerged as the senior NDA partner, Kushwaha became the Leader of the Opposition.

    He got expelled from the JD(U) for anti-party activities in 2007, but was re-inducted two years later.

    He was rewarded with a Rajya Sabha seat but ambition got the better of him in 2013 when he fell apart with Kumar once again and floated the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party.

    The BJP-led NDA, which was then desperate for new allies in the wake of the exit of Kumar, welcomed Kushwaha and his fledgling party won three seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, riding the Modi wave.

    Kushwaha himself was appointed the Minister of State for HRD, a post he held till his exit from the NDA.

    Meanwhile, Ashok Choudhary, one of the closest aides of the chief minister, summed up the buoyancy in JD(U) camp.

    “It is being increasingly clear to all that the future belongs to the brand of politics popularised by Nitish Kumar. In the recent past, many have crossed over. Upendra Kushwaha’s return adds another chapter. In future, many more may follow,” he said.

  • Friendship restored: Upendra Kushwaha announces official merger of RLSP with JDU in Bihar

    Express News Service
    PATNA: Putting an end to all speculations on Sunday, founder of Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) Upendra Kushwaha announced the merger of his party with all ideologies and individuals with the ruling Janata Dal (United) (JDU) on Sunday.

    “RLSP will work for common causes under the leadership of chief minister Nitish Kumar to make Bihar stronger,” Kushwaha told in a press meet. 

    “Even before floating the RLSP, I had worked elaborately for the JDU. The merger is happening in the larger interest of the state.”

    According to political analysts, the merger was long speculated following the debacle that RLSP faced in the recent assembly polls in Bihar. Recently, close to 35 senior RLSP leaders had joined the RJD.

    When asked what his role will be like after the merger, Kushwaha said that he has left it on CM Nitish Kumar to decide and further hinted that he would work for boosting the education sector in the state with the support of all the parties in the alliance. 

    On being reminded of his statement on Nitish Kumar an enemy by one of the reporters, Kushwaha asked him to forget what was said in the past. “There is no need of an enemy when you have a friend like Nitish Kumar,” the RLSP founder had said. 

    An evidently elated Kushwaha, while describing Nitish Kumar like his elder brother, said that all like-minded people in politics with common ideologies should come on one platform. 

  • Protesting JDU merger, 35 senior RLSP leaders join RJD, attack Upendra Kushwaha

    Express News Service
    PATNA: Amid the speculations about the RLSP-JDU merger, nearly 35 senior leaders of RLSP including working state president and principal general secretary joined Bihar’s principal opposition party-RJD, in a dramatic way on Friday.

    Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Tejashwi Yadav, along with party state chief Jagdanand Singh gave them the primary memberships of the party. The prominent faces who joined RJD giving an existential threat to RLSP are state president Virendra Kushwaha, principal general secretary Nirmal Kushwaha, state president of Women’s Cell Madhu Manjari Mehta and former state president Vijay Mahato and others. All of them received the RJD membership in the presence of Tejashwi Yadav.

    They attacked Upendra Kushwaha for his decision to merge RLSP with JDU. Lashing out at Upendra Kushwaha and Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav said, “It was Nitish Kumar, who had dubbed Upendra Kushwaha during the state assembly election as ‘neech’ indirectly. Now, Kushwaha ji has decided to go with him — the weakest chief minister of the country.”

    “Only Upendra Kushwaha is left to survive or sink in the RLSP”, he mocked. Quoting an old statement of Upendra Kushwaha, Tejashwi said that once he often used to say that no one needs an enemy if he has a friend like Nitish Kumar.  Now, he is going to be merged with Nitish Kumar and the CM has also become so restless to welcome Kushwaha”, he said.

    रालोसपा के संस्थापकों, प्रमुख नेताओं व पदाधिकारियों ने रालोसपा के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष उपेंद्र कुशवाहा जी को निष्कासित कर पार्टी का आज राजद में विलय कर दिया। प्रदेश की राजनीति में यह एक बड़ा बदलाव है। उपेंद्र कुशवाहा जी अब अकेले रह गये है। उनकी पार्टी अब राजद का हिस्सा बन चुकी है। pic.twitter.com/L4HVatzmym
    — Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) March 12, 2021

    He also made a frontal attack on Nitish Kumar saying that Kumar survives on the support of “Baisakhi” (support or anchor) of BJP in Bihar.  “In Bihar, the development of double engine has come to a standstill.”, Yadav sarcastically said.

    Earlier, on March 6, 41 RLSP leaders had joined the JDU.  Meanwhile, poll analysts Arun Kumar Pandey said that RLSP has been weakened by the desertion of 35 leaders. “ But once Upendra Kushwaha, who has been projecting himself as an alternate to Nitish Kumar is speculated to be under the same man if his party merges ahead with JDU”, Pandey said.

    Meanwhile, sources said that the RLSP will merger with JDU after March 14.