LJP as free as BJP to fight polls alone: Lok Janshakti Party chief Chirag Paswan

This month, leadership of the Lok Janshakti Party passed on to the next generation when Ram Vilas Paswan, 73, named his son Chirag Paswan, 37, president of the party he set up 19 years ago.

The elevation of Paswan junior comes ahead of the Jharkhand elections, where LJP, a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in Bihar and the Centre, is fighting it out alone after an apparent snub from the BJP. Also, last week, an LJP MP went against NDA and voted with the Opposition at a parliamentary panel meeting to discuss data privacy.

In an interview to ET in New Delhi, Paswan, who started out as a film actor and is now a two-time Lok Sabha member, speaks about his ambitions for the LJP and the need for NDA partners to have a stronger voice, in the wake of Shiv Sena’s exit. Edited excerpts:

Now that you are LJP chief, what are your priorities?
I want to expand my party’s base across the country. I am pushing for the setting up of a national youth commission. I also want to give people from weaker sections more representation in judiciary. The Women’s Reservation Bill is also a priority.

How well-represented are women leaders in LJP?
We have one woman MP and one woman MLC now. But in the coming Bihar elections, we will ensure 60% of tickets are given to women and youth.

How many women is LJP fielding in Jharkhand polls?
I can assure you there will be a good representation of women in the 50 seats we are contesting.

Why is LJP contesting alone and not with the BJP?
I did not know how many seats BJP was willing to give us in Jharkhand. I was in touch with national president Amit Shahji, working president JP Naddaji and state chief Om Mathurji. But I had no clarity or communication from them. What added fuel to the fire was BJP announcing candidates for 50 seats, including for seats that we wanted. I had no choice but to come out with a separate list.

If BJP does the same in Bihar, will you also fight it alone there?
We will cross the bridge when we come to it. But please understand the base of our alliance with BJP in Bihar. Being an honest alliance partner, I will try my best to ally with BJP in the rest of the country. We are as free as BJP to fight polls alone. But none of this will affect Bihar. The NDA is strong in Bihar.

Then why did BJP and Janata Dal (United), both part of NDA, lose four of five assembly seats in the recent by-polls?
There were many reasons: infightings, local issues. We did a review meeting and it was a learning experience. But LJP retained the Lok Sabha seat in the same by-poll.

After Shiv Sena left NDA, you said the alliance needed a coordination committee. Why?
One by one, all allies are leaving NDA — TDP, Hindustani Awam Morcha, PDP, Rashtriya Lok Samta Party and now Shiv Sena. I can’t imagine an NDA meeting without the Sena.

It is high time we have a coordination committee or a convenor to give voice to our concerns. I told the prime minister (Narendra Modi) that we rarely get this kind of opportunity. If we had a convenor, none of the allies would have left. Shiv Sena leaders said they were assured 50:50 seat-sharing. But no LJP member was present when the formula was discussed. So we do not really know who is telling the truth and who is lying.

We need better coordination and we need to speak more often. I am not saying all this to create a buzz but because I genuinely want better coordination among allies.

How would you describe Ram Vilas Paswan as a father?
If he is the sun, I am the moon. Whatever he emits, I reflect. But he has always respected my choices — even my decision to join Bollywood. He was there for the mahurat (of Miley Naa Miley Hum in 2011). He often says: “Machli ke bachon ko tairna nahi sikhaya jataa (Offspring of fish are not taught swimming).”

There are talks you may take your father’s place as a Union cabinet minister.
I hear that a lot too! To become a Union minister, you need a lot of experience, which, in our party, no one has except for my father. I have a big responsibility in terms of expanding my party. So let me reiterate: my father will be representing my party in the Central government.

LJP MP Mehboob Ali Kaiser voted against the BJP at a parliamentary standing committee meeting on the issue of discussing WhatsApp snooping. Why?
That is exactly why we need a coordination committee. It was communicated at the last moment that the meeting should be called off. Our MP called me up to ask what should be done. When the agenda was pre-decided, why did they (BJP) want to cancel the meeting and avoid a discussion? If that was their plan, they should have told us earlier. The verdict went in favour of the Opposition by one vote. Had we been informed beforehand, this situation could have been averted.

You can’t take your allies for granted. We respect the alliance but if you (BJP) expect that you can throw anything at us and we will accept it, that is not going to happen.

With four of seven LJP MPs coming from the Paswan family, how do you tackle charges of nepotism?
Today, all of us who come from political families — be it Akhilesh Yadav (SP) or Tejashwi Yadav (RJD) — are all subject to public scrutiny. Yes, in the beginning I may have got some advantage because of my father’s name but not in the long run.

I won the (Jamui) Lok Sabha seat again (in 2019) because I worked for my constituency. That is the reason my winning margin rose from 86,000 votes (in 2014) to 2.4 lakh votes. Had nepotism been the only criterion, Misa Bharti (RJD founder Lalu Prasad’s daughter) would not have lost repeatedly. Nepotism gives you an easy entry, but your work helps you survive.