Chirag Paswan gets back bungalow which went to his estranged uncle after father's death

Union Minister Chirag Paswan takes possession of government bungalow in Patna, marking rise in political stock.

Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Friday (November 15, 2024) took possession of the government bungalow in Patna which had served as the office of his late father Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party till it split up within a few months of his death.

Mr. Paswan's entry into 1, Wheeler Road, situated a few hundred meters from vantage points like Raj Bhavan, the residence of the chief minister and the airport, marks the rise in his stock since his Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) won all the five seats it contested in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

"It is a great coincidence that we have been allotted, for my party, the very premises where I started my political journey," recounted the Union Minister who had made his debut in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Mr. Paswan, however, maintained that he had "never insisted on having back" the bungalow till recently occupied by the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party of his estranged uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras, whose revolt had led to the split in the party founded by his late father.

However, Mr. Paswan asserted, "I am not someone who would hold a grouse against anybody. In fact, my memories of this house would always include the cherished moments I had spent with 'chacha' (uncle). It is because of circumstances of his own making that we are now apart."

Notably, after splitting the LJP, Paras also got a berth in the Union cabinet and the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar, which was then gunning for Mr. Paswan, quickly allotted the bungalow to his party.

However, by the time the 2024 elections approached, Mr. Paras had obviously run out of luck, with the BJP-led NDA throwing its lot behind his nephew, who was also given his Hajipur seat, a pocket borough of the late Paswan.