"Will Expose True Face Of Nitish Kumar, Inform Dalits": Chirag Paswan

Chirag Paswan - who called the fight for control of LJP a "Mahabharata" - accused Nitish Kumar of working to split the party by dividing Paswan community votes

Lok Janshakti Party chief Chirag Paswan has accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of an "anti-Dalit mindset" and of "mistreating Dalits within his own party" - a pointed reference to the 2015 tussle for power with former Chief Minister and Dalit leader Jitan Ram Manjhi, which ended with the latter being forced to resign. Speaking to NDTV.com on Monday, Mr Paswan - who called the fight for control of LJP a "Mahabharata" - also accused Nitish Kumar of trying to split the party by dividing the Paswan community - a subsection of Dalits that forms six per cent of Bihar. "If you see the political journey then it is clear... he has been splitting the Lok Janshakti Party since February 2005, when 27 were elected on our ticket. Subsequently he kept on splitting our legislature party in Bihar," Chirag Paswan told NDTV.com. Mr Paswan referred to the creation of the Mahadalit sub-group in 2006, saying: "That shows his mindset as it was primarily to isolate Paswans and Jatav."