Chirag Paswan takes over baton from father, named LJP president

He said, “Party MP Pashupati Kumar Paras proposed his name and the national executive approved it. Under the leadership of Chirag, the party will achieve new height and the organisation will be strengthened.”

Chirag, 37, was LJP’s central Parliamentary board chairman and has been a key decision-maker in the party in recent years

“In my new responsibility I will work for the expansion of the party; strengthening of the organisation and raise issues of the youth,” Chirag, who was also present at the media conference, said.

About Paswan senior, Chirag said, “He will now provide guidance to the party.”

A graduate in Computer Science, Chirag had acted in a Hindi film – ‘Miley Naa Miley Hum’ – in 2011. It did not do well commercially.

He became an MP for the first time in 16th Lok Sabha by winning Jamui (reserved for Scheduled Castes) seat in Bihar in 2014. He repeated the victory in this summer’s General Election.

The LJP, a constituent of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), at present has six MPs and two MLAs in Bihar Assembly. The party is seen as having a strong base among Dalits in the state.

Chirag’s elevation comes at a time when the party is bracing for Bihar Assembly elections, due next year. Last month, the LJP appointed other youth leaders to key posts, including newly elected Lok Sabha MP from Samastipur Prince Raj as the party’s Bihar unit president, and Nawada MP Chandan Singh, 34, as the state president of LJPs’ youth wing.

Prince, Chirag’s nephew, defeated Congress candidate Ashok Kumar by more than 1.02 lakh votes to win the by-election from Samastipur, held last month. The seat fell vacant after the death of Ram Chandra Paswan, Ram Vilas’s brother and Prince’s father.

Asked about the Assembly elections in Jharkhand, next-door to Bihar, Chiarag said, “The LJP has demanded six Assembly seats in the state. This has been conveyed in writing to BJP national president Amit Shah, BJP working president J P Nadda and the Jharkhand Chief Minister (BJP’s Raghubar Das). Discussions have been positive so far.”