Sonrise in Bihar's LJP soon

The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and an NDA ally from Bihar could see early sonrise due to failing health of its chief Ram Vilas Paswan.

With the party gearing up to embrace generational change in its top leadership, Chirag Paswan, son of the Union Minister, is set to take over the command of the LJP soon.

An announcement to Chirag's elevation as the LJP president and his father going for the party patriarch role will formally be made on its foundation day on November 28.

Paswan, who has been holding the reigns of the LJP since the formation of the party in Bihar in 2000, signalled a generational shift in his party on Tuesday.

“We are getting older and we certainly want the next generation take up all work responsibilities. It's imperative that the new generation will come forward to run the party,” he said at a press conference when asked if Chirag would soon take over the role of the LJP chief, replacing him.

Paswan said that the issue of Chirag's elevation to the LJP president's post will be discussed at the meeting of the party's national executive to be held on its foundation day in November.

“There is a process. Our party's national executive will take a decision at its meeting on November 28. Our national executive was slated to meet early but the meeting was postponed due to announcement of assembly elections,” he added.

Chirag, 35, who is an MP from Jamui in Bihar and party's parliamentary board chairman, has been taking most of the key decisions of the party since he made his debut by winning Lok Sabha polls for the first time in 2014.

On Tuesday, the party appointed Chirag as the acting chief of the LJP's State unit in Bihar "with immediate effect". He will replace Paswan's brother, Pashupati Kumar Paras.

Paras has been appointed as the president of the LJP's Dalit Sena following the recent demise of incumbent Ram Chandra Paswan, another brother of Ram Vilas Paswan.