Chirag Paswan meets RJD's Shyam Rajak, speaks to Lalu Yadav

By Ajit K Jha
New Delhi [India], July 11 (ANI): Lok Janshankti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswan met Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) national general secretary Shyam Rajak on Saturday evening.
The meeting comes amid the spat between Chirag Paswan and his uncle Union Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras over the claim of Ram Vilas Paswan's political legacy.
Rajak's meeting with Paswan has set the speculations of Chairag joining hands with RJD high.
"It was a courtesy meeting with Chirag Paswan. I went there to meet the Paswan family including Chirag Paswan," Rajak told ANI.
However, Rajak's meeting with Paswan a day after his meeting with RJD chief Lalu Yadav on Friday holds political significance.
Asked whether Chirag is welcome in RJD or not, Rajak said "All those who want to take forward the ideology of Lohia and Ambedkar are welcome, be it Chirag Paswan or anyone else."
Another top RJD source told ANI that Paswan spoke to RJD national president over the phone for more than 15 minutes on Saturday evening. After talking to Lalu Yadav, Chirag Paswan also spoke to Tejashwi Yadav. Their conversation was regarding the possible future political alliances in Bihar.
Last month, Tejashwi Yadav had called Chirag for joining hands with the opposition.
The newly-appointed Union Minister and LJP leader Pashupati Kumar Paras on Friday claimed that he is the real heir apparent of his elder brother Ram Vilas Paswan's political legacy.
Last month, Pashupati Kumar Paras, the younger brother of LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan along with five other MPs, met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and handed over a letter to him seeking removal of Chirag Paswan as party chief and as the Lok Sabha Parliamentary party leader.
Birla accepted Paras as the floor leader of the LJP in the lower house. In a revised list of floor leaders of parties, Paras was listed as the Lok Sabha LJP leader.
Later, Chirag too wrote to Birla stating that the decision of announcing Pashupati as leader of LJP in the Lower House was contrary to the provisions of the party's Constitution.
Chirag has also requested the Lok Sabha Speaker to issue a new circular in his favour as a leader of LJP in the house.
After the rebel faction of the LJP elected unopposed Paras as the new party president, Chirag Paswan had said that the election was "illegal" as it was conducted by members of the LJP who were suspended from the party.
The fallout between Paras and Chirag has been attributed to a range of issues including the former's dissatisfaction with his nephew's decision to break away from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Bihar Assembly polls.
The LJP was formed by former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan in 2000. Paswan, a heavyweight leader in Bihar politics, passed away in October 2020. (ANI)