Faced with Nitish Kumar's Onslaught, is Chirag Paswan Losing the Plot and 'Bungalow' or will LJP Regain Ground? Will...

Faced with Nitish Kumar's Onslaught, is Chirag Paswan Losing the Plot and 'Bungalow' or will LJP Regain Ground?

Will Chirag Paswan be able to carry forward the legacy of his father late Ram Vilas Paswan by steering the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) to electoral successes in Bihar and other states? Or, will his party’s political existence of 21 years come to an end in the face of the onslaught launched by his bête noire, Nitish Kumar?

Given the frequency of exits by senior party workers after the LJP’s dismal performance in the 2020 Bihar assembly elections, it would be a major challenge for Chirag Paswan to contain the current spell of desertions and rejuvenate the party as a potential political force in the state.

Chirag will have to effectively counter the onslaught of the Janata Dal (United) leader and, at the same time, strike up cordial relations with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to stay relevant in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). If the electoral losses in Bihar are not compensated in other states, the LJP might forfeit the ‘bungalow’ symbol allotted to it.

The LJP received a major jolt when its lone MLC Nutan Singh joined the BJP. Her husband Niraj Singh Bablu is a minister from the BJP quota in the Nitish Kumar government. Her switchover triggered gossip in the party circles with leaders wondering whether Chirag had lost the affection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he had compared with Lord Ram and himself with Hanuman during the Bihar assembly elections.