Can Chirag Paswan Retain His Father’s “Karmabhoomi” Hajipur Seat (image-X/iChiragPaswan)
Having won twice – in 2014 and 2019 – in Jamui, party chief of Lok Janshakti – Ram Vilas (LJP-RV) Chirag Paswan is looking for a record-making win from the Hajipur seat for the 10th time. Taking on his father Ram Vilas Paswan”s legacy further, Chirag has left his own Jamui seat in the hands of brother-in-law Arun Bharti. The Hajipur Lok Sabha seat has a special place for the Paswan family.
Former president of LJP and union minister Ram Vilas Paswan first secured the seat in 1977. Since then, he has won the seat eight times. After his last win in 2014, his brother, Pashupati Kumar Paras, took on the baton and won the seat in 2019 on an LJP ticket.
Uncle and nephew split the LJP in 2021, allegedly with the help of the state chief minister and JD(U) chief minister Nitish Kumar. Former national president of the LJP, Pashupati Kumar, currently serves as the national resident of the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party.
After the announcement of seat-sharing arrangements among the NDA allies was revealed, Chirag’s party received five seats while his uncle’s faction received none. Estranged uncle Pashupati Kumar was reluctant to let go of the seat, but the intervention of senior BJP leaders resolved matters. Although Pashupati Kumar did resign from the Union cabinet, citing “injustice” by the party, he extended his support for the NDA and PM Modi.
In a political setback for Chirag and his LJP-RV, 22 party leaders resigned over not receiving tickets to contest the elections and extended their support to the opposition led-INDIA bloc on April. While resigning, there were allegations raised of Chirag selling tickets and playing the emotional game with Bihar and its people. However, the fact that the Lok Sabha seat is essentially a “family seat” for the Paswans along with the Modi factor, the LJP-RV has high chances of securing the 10th win in the constituency.
The actor-turned-politician’s opposition is Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate and veteran leader Shiv Chandra Ram, a two-time MLA from the Hajipur seat. The INDIA alliance candidate is known to be a close aid of party president Lalu Prasad Yadav. Shiv Chandra Ram, a well-known face of the Dalit community, hopes to pull some weight on winning with the Hajipur seat being SC reserved.
The Hajipur Lok Sabha constituency went to polls on May 20 and recorded a voter turnout of 58.18 percent.
