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Patna: In a political development that could have a significant impact on the coming Bihar assembly polls, LJP (RV) chief and union minister Chirag Paswan is most likely to contest the election from a general seat to send a message that he was now ready to lead the entire state, and was not just one community’s leader.
Chirag`s brother-in-law and party MP from Jamui, Arun Bharti gave adequate hints to construe that he (Chirag) has made up his mind to contest the assembly election as now only a formal announcement is awaited. Chirag is expected to make it official during a public rally, 'Nav-Sankalp Mahasabha' to be held in Ara, the district headquarters of Bhojpur, on June 8. He is also likely to make an announcement about his resignation from the union cabinet at the public meeting, sources claimed.
Chirag would contest the assembly election from a general seat, unlike in the past when he fought Lok Sabha seats from the constituencies reserved for SCs –Hajipur and Jamui. Although it has not been decided so far from where Chirag will contest assembly election, he may try his luck either from Patna, Danapur or Hajipur, sources claimed.
LJP MP Bharti commented on ‘X’, “Our national president Chirag Paswan always says that his politics is Bihar-centric and his vision “Bihar First, Bihari First” is a resolution for a developed and self-reliant Bihar. This is possible only when he himself stays in Bihar and leads. When I went from village to village as the state in-charge, people everywhere had only one demand - that Chirag should now play a bigger role in Bihar.”
“Recently, in the party executive meeting, a proposal was also passed unanimously that Chirag should contest the upcoming assembly elections himself. At the same time, there is a feeling among the workers that this time he should contest the election not from a reserved seat but from a general seat – so that the message goes out that he is now ready to lead the entire Bihar and not just one community.
“Chirag Paswan is now not just a people's representative, he is the hope of the whole of Bihar. His move will give a new direction to the politics of social justice – in which along with representation, the fight for universal acceptance will also be fought.”
On May 19, Chirag had met Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, endorsing his leadership, and stating that there was no vacancy for the CM post. After the meeting, LJP (RV) MP Bharti had shared a photograph of Nitish and Chirag, captioning it “Tufano se ladkar humne Bihar sanwara hai, ab tumhare hatho me bhavishya hamara hai (We have built Bihar by fighting the storms, now our future is in your hands). It created a flutter in political circles as it was seen as indication that Chirag had discussed his plan to contest assembly elections with Nitish, and also taking him into confidence before going ahead.
