Tactical Retreat: Ram Vilas Paswan puts son in driving seat for LJP's Bihar poll strategy

Much like his party’s decision in 2014 to jump from the UPA to the NDA, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has once again withdrawn from decision-making and left it to his son Chirag to decide the next course of political action in poll-bound Bihar.

In a series of tweets, Paswan on Friday made it clear that he would stand by Chirag's decision on the alliance and seat-sharing for the Bihar assembly polls. Paswan also said that said he got hospitalised for treatment at the prodding of his son, who besides taking care of him, was also fulfilling his responsibilities towards the party.

"I am confident that with his youthful thinking, Chirag will take the party and Bihar to new heights. I firmly stand by all the decisions of Chirag,” Paswan said, a remark that came against the backdrop of a section in the party in favour of the LJP contesting the election even from the seats which have been a9llotted to the JD(U) within the NDA.

Four days back, the LJP authorised Chirag Paswan to take a call on whether the party will fight the state polls within the NDA under the leadership of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar or if it would limit its alliance commitment to the BJP alone on which both Ram Vilas Paswan and Chirag have been showering effusive praise, even as they have been taking swipes, at Nitish Kumar for last over a month.

Chirag, who has his reservations against Nitish Kumar's projection as the alliance's face in Bihar polls, is likely to take a final call on the alliance issue for Bihar on September 15, when a crucial meeting of the party is scheduled.

The JD(U)-BJP tussle, which many believe, is primarily to do with hard bargaining for seats, has taken a hard turn due to repeated barbs of Chirag Paswan on the Nitish government and the latter responding by reaching out to Mahadalit leader and former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who quit the RJD-Congress alliance and has now moved closer to Nitish once again.

Manjhi, who belongs to the Mushahar or 'rat eater' community of Dalits, has been taking on Chirag Paswan now. The JD(U) also got another shot in the arm with prominent socialist leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh (belonging to Rajput caste), having resigned from the RJD. There is a buzz that he might join the JD(U).

While an emboldened JD(U) is in no mood to bear with Chirag’s tantrums and feels that the LJP is punching above its weight, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan throughout his political career spanning five decades has managed to corner a lion’s share of seats and portfolios for his party in all dispensations.

With the legacy of the party settled in favour of son, Paswan has since 2014 left key decisions to Chirag, sometimes a tactical retreat, to keep the legroom for last-minute adjustments. When his party decided to switch sides to the Narendra Modi-led NDA in 2014, Paswan had said it was Chirag who was taking the decision in the interest of the party.

Many believe that Chirag’s unusual rant against Nitish has the BJP’s blessings this time even though the BJP has officially announced that the NDA will fight the polls in Bihar under Nitish Kumar’s leadership. Questioning the leadership of Nitish two months before the polls may also be a precursor to create space for new possibilities in a post-poll scenario.

The LJP, which has now decided to prepare a list of candidates for 143 constituencies, had started on an aggressive note in Bihar since March itself when Chirag Paswan embarked on a ''Bihar First Bihari First'' campaign, which raised many eyebrows within the JD(U). The BJP kept an arm’s length from these developments. Chirag later also targeted the Nitish government over its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the meanwhile, the BJP has the last laugh as the two NDA allies fight---- both aggressively courting the saffron party in their favour.