Major Blow To Chirag Paswan! 5 MPs Quit, Write To Speaker For New Leader In Lok Sabha

Five of the party’s six MPs in Lok Sabha have left Chirag Paswan's side and wrote to speaker OM Birla to remove Chirag Paswan as the leader of the Lower House.

LJP Leader Chirag Pawan (File Photo)

Patna: In a sudden turn of events, the Lok Jan Shakti party has experienced a major split on Sunday as 5 MPs have decided to part ways from the leadership of party chief and MP Chirag Paswan. LJP was already battling the setback following its weighty defeat in the Bihar legislative assembly elections last year and now sources have confirmed that Chirag Paswan's uncle Pashupati Paras is the reason for this split.

As many as five of the party's six MPs in Lok Sabha have decided to remove Chirag Paswan as the leader of the Parliamentary party in the Lower House, according to news agency ANI.

Chirag Paswan's uncle Pashupati Paras reason behind the split

Citing people familiar with the development, the news agency reported that the majority of Lok Sabha MPs in Chirag's own party intend to replace him with Hajipur MP Pashupati Kumar Paras as the new leader of the LJP in Lok Sabha.

Reports also confirmed that the 5 MPs have written to the Lower House speaker Om Birla about their request. 

“LJP MPs met Lok Speaker Om Birla on Sunday and handed over a letter to him about new developments in the party. They request him to consider Pashupati Kumar Paras as new leader of the LJP in Lok Sabha," ANI reported.

Chirag Paswan, the son of late party supremo Ram Vilas Paswan, had been having a tumultuous time managing the party ever since his father’s death one year ago.

Pashupati Kumar Paras, who the MPs feel can better represent the party as its new leader in Lok Sabha, is currently representing the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat in Bihar and is the uncle of Chirag Paswan.

Centre mulls over cabinet reshuffling

A buzz has been going on about the imminent reshuffle in the Union Cabinet.

The speculations have intensified after series of meetings took place between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President JP Nadda in Delhi. Reports stated that Nadda had been frequently visiting PM's residence for a month now.

Sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stated that the party is likely to accommodate a few of its prominent leaders and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) members in the Narendra Modi Cabinet soon. It has been two years since NDA came back to power in 2019.

Nitish Govt demands 'respectable' share in Union Cabinet

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), the second largest constituent of the BJP-led NDA, on Saturday asserted that alliance partners ought to have a "respectable" share in the Union council of ministers.

A statement to this effect was made by RCP Singh, a close aide of the Bihar CM, after reports of Union cabinet expansion.

Singh had succeeded Kumar as the JD(U) national president after the chief minister relinquished the top party post much ahead of the expiry of his tenure earlier this year.

"We are a part of the NDA.....all constituents deserve a respectable share (in the Narendra Modi government", Singh told the reporters.