Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday called for a tie-up between Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party and his Rashtriya Janata Dal, PTI reported.
In June, the LJP plunged into a crisis after five of its six Lok Sabha MPs rebelled against Paswan. The rebel MPs had told Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that they have chosen Paswan’s uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras as the party’s leader in Parliament.
The development, effectively a coup against Paswan, came less than a year after his father and former Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan died in October. He was the founder of the party.
After meeting Loktantrik Janata Dal party leader Sharad Yadav, who is recovering from a long spell of illness, Lalu Yadav said that Chirag Paswan has emerged as the leader despite the feud in the party.
Paswan thanked the former Bihar chief minister for the support but refrained from making any political comment. “Lalu ji had cordial relations with my father and political mentor Ram Vilas Paswan,” he said. “But, my current priority is the ongoing statewide Ashirwad Yatra.”
Paswan embarked on his Aashirwad Yatra across the state in July to gain control of the party. Projecting himself as the rightful political heir of his father, Paswan had said those who rebelled against the party were guilty of betrayal.
In June, the RJD chief’s son and Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav had also reached out to Paswan. Then, Paswan had said that he would take a decision on a possible alliance with the RJD around the time elections are held in Bihar.
In the 2020 Bihar Assembly election, the RJD had won 75 seats to emerge as the single-largest party. But, the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (United) coalition won the elections by bagging 125 seats in the 243-member state Assembly.
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