Rejecting Chirag’s allegations, Union Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras declares his candidacy for the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat

Union Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras announced his intention to run in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the Hajipur constituency during a press conference held at the Rashtriya Lok Janashakti Party headquarters, despite his nephew Chirag Paswan’s claims to the seat held by his late father Ram Vilas Paswan.

As Chirag was not yet an essential member of the alliance, Paras stated unflinching confidence that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would back his candidacy over Chirag’s. According to PTI, he used Chirag’s absence from the alliance’s MPs’ meeting held inside of Parliament as evidence of his limited engagement.

Paras stressed that such actions were a part of the culture of Bihar and the Mithila area to which they both belong, and that they did not signify a thaw in their relationship in response to the images that showed Chirag patting his feet and asking for blessings in Delhi.

The 71-year-old leader categorically indicated that he would neither choose the Rajya Sabha path or accept a governor position, putting an end to talks of a potential settlement with his nephew.

“No force on earth can prevent me from running in the next elections in Hajipur. All of these contradictory stories are like frogs croaking in the rainy season. Since it is an election year, you could hear them, but they are untrue, according to Paras.

Chirag said that his late father’s “karmabhoomi” was Hajipur; in response, Paras said, “Late Paswan was my brother, too.” He recalled how at first, since he was already a minister in Bihar, he had been reluctant to run in the Lok Sabha elections. But despite giving up his position as a government teacher, Paras had submitted his candidacy from Hajipur at his late brother’s urging.

Paras highlighted that his brother wanted him and no one else to run from Hajipur, which Ram Vilas Paswan had often represented, and emphasized his lengthy affiliation with the Alauli Vidhan Sabha constituency. The fact that Chirag was already an MP from Jamui, as highlighted by Paras, meant that attention needed to be placed on that seat.

Denying the idea that the BJP will back Chirag out of sorrow for his father’s passing, Paras cited how the NDA had rejected Chirag’s views during the 2020 assembly elections. He said that the LJP had been damaged by Chirag’s activities, which had resulted in the decision to break up relations.

Not only the party broke, either. The abyss between our emotions is unbridgeable, Paras said, underlining the distance that exists between him and his nephew.