Chirag Paswan fields brother-in-law from Jamui Lok Sabha seat

Chirag Paswan announces brother-in-law Arun Bharti as Lok Sabha candidate in Jamui, Bihar, amid political turmoil.

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan on Wednesday announced the candidature of his brother-in-law Arun Bharti from Jamui (reserved) Lok Sabha seat from where he was elected in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Mr. Paswan, earlier, had said he would contest from Hajipur (reserved) seat, which his father Ram Vilas Paswan had represented eight times.

Chirag Paswan is yet to announce names of candidates for three seats — Samastipur, Khagaria and Vaishali. As part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar, LJP (RV) was allocated five seats to contest out of the total 40 seats. The BJP would be contesting 17 seats, JD(U) 16 while the other two allies — Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha would stand in one seat each. Mr. Paswan, though, is likely to announce the names of party candidates to the remaining three seats soon as he had earlier stated that he would announce the names of candidates to these three seats after the festival of Holi.

“I promise you all that he, my brother-in-law Arun Bharti, would prove to be a good MP from Jamui seat,” Mr. Paswan said while addressing party workers and leaders. Jamui constituency is scheduled to go to the polls in the first phase on April 19.

Earlier, the names of other leaders like Sanjay Paswan and Sambhavi Kunal were doing the rounds in political circles for the Jamui (reserved) seat. In the seat, Mr. Bharti would contest against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Archana Ravidas.

Meanwhile, Prince Raj, who is the MLA from Samastipur and cousin of Chirag Paswan, met Bihar in-charge of the BJP Vinod Tawde on March 26 in New Delhi. Though, he called it as a “courtesy meeting”, the buzz among political circles in the State is that he had met Mr. Tawde to express his desire to dump his uncle and former Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras to contest elections from Samastipur again with the BJP’s support. However, earlier, Chirag Paswan had announced that he would not be fielding any “turncoats” from any of the five seats he was given under the NDA grouping.

Mr. Chirag Paswan had an animosity with his uncle Pashupatui Kumar Paras after the Lok Janshakti Party was split into two factions in June 2021 — Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Mr. Paras-led Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party — after death of the founder of united Lok Janshakti Party Ram Vilas Paswan in October 2020.

In the 2019 LS elections, Mr. Paras had contested from Hajipur (reserved) seat and was elected party MP saying only he would “retain his late elder brother Ram Vilas Paswan’s political legacy from Hajipur”. Mr. Chirag Paswan had won the polls from Jamui (reserved) seat in that year.