Union minister Pashupati Kumar resigned from the Narendra Modi government on Tuesday after his Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) was not given a single seat in the seat-sharing pact among constituents of the NDA for the Lok Sabha election. The seat-sharing deal was announced in Delhi on Monday.
Earlier, it was reported that RLJP leaders and workers had reached a consensus to take an 'independent' decision as Justice was denied to the party in the seat-sharing arrangement. After announcement of seat-sharing arrangements, Paras resignation was expected from the union cabinet in a day or two.
The possibility of RLJP joining the grand alliance cannot be ruled out if it is offered a 'respectful' number of seats in the deal. The party may field candidates from Hajipur, Samastipur, Khagaria and Vaishali. Paras has already announced to contest as an independent against his nephew and LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan in Hajipur.
According to media reports, Chirag Paswan's closeness with the BJP had made Paras uncomfortable about his future. A few days ago, it became apparent to him that his party might not get any seats in the NDA. Despite being neglected by the BJP, he tried to get the attention of the BJP high command and urged the JP's National President, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Home Minister Amit Shah to consider their 5 MPs.
Chirag Paswan has been allocated five Lok Sabha seats this time, including Vaishali, Hajipur, Samastipur, Khagaria, and Jamui. However, currently, Pashupati Paras is the leading MP of his party from these five seats. After the demise of Ram Vilas Paswan, the LJP suffered a split. Following the split, there are now two factions within the LJP, with Pashupati Paras leading one faction and Chirag Paswan leading the other. Currently, Chirag Paswan himself is an MP from Jamui. Speaking of other LJP MPs, Pashupati Paras represents Hajipur, Mahboob Ali Kaiser represents Khagaria, Veena Devi represents Vaishali, and Prince Raj represents Samastipur.
