Chirag's Gujarat visit and politics behind the curtain

LJP leader Chirag Paswan's visit to Ahmedabad to meet a close confidante of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created political speculations in Bihar, however, the former dismissed all the narratives when he was asked about the purpose of his visit, writes ETV Bharat's Bihar Bureau Chief Amit Bhelari.

Patna: Amid a power tussle with his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras, the visit of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswan to Ahmedabad to meet a close confidante of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has triggered a political spark in Bihar. His meeting with a close confidante of the PM assumes significance in the backdrop of the recent political development in the state apart from the expansion of the union cabinet. However, Chirag rejected all the narratives when he was asked about the purpose of his visit.

As a mature politician, he did not reveal his agenda and termed it as his personal visit to the city, said sources. “Chirag Paswan met a senior leader of BJP in Gujarat who is very close to the PM. Both held close door meetings for a few hours,” a senior leader close to Chirag told ETV Bharat on the condition of anonymity. All the trusted people of Chirag have left him alone after being ousted as chief of LJP which was founded by his father. Chirag recently took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticising him and stated that it was not right if 'Ram' remains silent when 'Hanuman' is being killed.

Chirag Paswan had described himself as the 'Hanuman' of PM Modi during the recent Bihar Assembly polls. He recently accused that the coup in his party took place on the behest of JD(U) and in the entire row BJP kept mum. A few days back, he had defended his decision taken during the Bihar elections claiming that BJP was kept in the loop and strategy was well discussed with the party.

It means that Chirag fielded LJP candidates against Nitish's JDU on the instruction of BJP and when the former needed the help of the saffron party, all of them kept mum. This particular behaviour has hurt Chirag the most. The BJP sources said that the party later realised and conducted an internal survey on Paswan voters after the split and it was found that the voters were intact with Chirag and not Paras.

The BJP insiders also revealed that the party has given a rethink on Chirag's name and listed a few points based on which the relation with him is going to be smooth in near future keeping the 2024 general elections in fine. During the survey, it was found that the Paswan voters have no confusion in choosing their leader as Ram Vilas Paswan had already declared that Chirag would be his successor. Secondly, the age factor between Chirag and Paras matters a lot. Thirdly, Paras is not a mass leader and neither a good orator. Paras was always engaged in the back office work and never took lead in the organisation and also his cousin Prince Raj's name has surfaced in an alleged sex scandal.

Apart from this, the other parliamentarian of the Paras faction, who represent the Bhumihar and Rajput community, does not make much difference because the people of these communities already support BJP. Dalits are already angry at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over liquor prohibition as lakhs of people were put behind bars. So the BJP leadership did not find a single logic to justify their stand to support Paras.

In the present scenario, it would be not easy for the BJP leadership of Delhi to ignore Chirag fearing the loss of a 6 per cent vote bank during the next general elections. The BJP also knows very well that if Chirag, RJD and Congress come together, it would be a formidable alliance that might pose a threat to the NDA. So, before it's too late, the BJP leadership will clear the air in the coming days over Chirag and Paras. To keep the relation with Chirag intact, there are speculations that Paras may not be inducted into the council of ministers led by Narendra Modi if expansion takes place.

Patna based political expert Dr Sanjay Kumar echoed the same and stressed that BJP will keep Chirag in good humour keeping the next general elections in mind. “It's a fact that BJP will keep him in good humour now and even Chiarag knows very well that his future lies with the BJP and not with the Opposition. In the Opposition, Tejashwi Yadav is already a face so Chirag can only get the second position but with BJP he can lead the team. If there would be a situation in front of BJP to choose between JDU and LJP, the saffron party will go with the former, so Chirag's meeting with a close associate of the PM is a clear message that the relation between BJP and Chirag will continue, “Dr Sanjay said.

A source close to Chirag revealed that he met Parindu Bhagat son of dedicated RSS member Bachubhai Bhagat. In Gujarat, he is popularly known as Kaku Bhaiand also very close to Amit Shah. He is basically a Chartered Accountant and has expertise in making complicated laws simple. PM Modi always seeks his advice and that's the reason he is also called the PM's troubleshooter.