A day after uncle-nephew feud, Chirag Paswan has been removed as Lok Janshakti Party chief, reported NDTV.
The rebel MPs said that Paswan has been removed on the principle of "One Man, One Post." Paswan's uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras is likely to be elected as the new LJP president later this week.
For the uninitiated, five of the six Lok Janshakti Party MPs in Lok Sabha had joined hands against their leader Chirag Paswan and elected Pashupati Kumar Paras, the youngest brother of Paswan's late father and party founder Ram Vilas Paswan, in his place, causing a big churn in Bihar politics.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat on Monday evening recognised Paras as the leader of the LJP in the House, a day after the five MPs informed Speaker Om Birla about their decision.
Paras lauded Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as a good leader and "vikas purush" (development-oriented man), highlighting the deep fault lines within the party as his nephew has been a strong critic of the supreme JD(U) leader.
"I have not broken the party but saved it," Paras, the MP from Hajipur, told reporters.
He asserted that 99 per cent of LJP workers were unhappy with the turn of events in Bihar as Paswan led his party against the JD(U) and it fared poorly in the 2020 assembly polls.
The LJP has been on the brink of collapse, he said in reference to its poor show in the polls, and lashed out at "anti-social" elements in the party, an apparent pointer to a close aide of Paswan whose proximity to him has not gone down well with many party leaders.
Paras said his group will continue to be part of the BJP-led NDA, and added that Paswan can remain in the organisation.
