A political storm has erupted within the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar after the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) MP from Nawada, Chandan Singh, met Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, on Sunday.
His party chief Chirag Paswan, raised objection over this meeting.
Though the media reports suggest that Chandan met Nitish to discuss the development works in his parliamentary constituency, Nawada, independent observers are of the view that it has more to do with politics than anything else.
The LJP, a constituent of the NDA, has six MPs. Apart from Chandan and Khagaria MP, Mahboob Ali Qaiser and Veena Devi, the rest three MPs are from within the Paswan family. They are Chirag, his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras and cousin, Prince Raj.
As Chirag was very critical of Nitish during the Bihar Assembly election campaign and repeatedly highlighted corruption and loot in the developmental works in the state, the relationship between Janata Dal-United and LJP got strained. The LJP contested the election independently in 143 seats, though it won only one.
As the JD-U was contesting election in 115 seats the presence of LJP candidates had a much bigger impact on Nitish’s party than on the BJP.
Now that Chirag’s father Ram Vilas Paswan, a Union minister in the Narendra Modi cabinet, had died on October 8 last, and the LJP performed disastrously in the poll, its bargaining position has been badly hit.
Nitish, who has expanded his cabinet, is now trying to pay Chirag back in his own coin. He is out to woo LJP leaders towards his side.
Chandan is the brother of former JD-U strongman, Suraj Bhan Singh. When Nitish was the railway minister Suraj Bhan was very close to him. But he later crossed over to the LJP. His wife Veena Devi (not the one named above) was till 2019 the LJP MP from Munger.
But when Giriraj Singh decided not to contest the last Lok Sabha election from Nawada (and shifted to Begusarai) and the seat went to LJP, the latter fielded Chandan, the bother of Suraj Bhan Singh and not his wife, Veena. Media reports then said that Suraj Bhan was compelled to withdraw Veena and opt for his brother because she was very critical of Nitish Kumar. It was then said that the chief minister prevailed upon both the BJP and LJP to force Veena out of the fray. So Chandan in a way got ticket courtesy Nitish Kumar.
