Chirag Paswan hit as neta, flop as ‘abhineta’

It is commonly known that Chirag Paswan is the only son of Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan. It is now also publicly known that on Tuesday, the heir apparent of Ram Vilas was anointed the national president of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP).

However, what is not commonly known is the fact that before taking a plunge in the hurly-burly of Indian politics, Chirag wanted to don grease paints and become a Bollywood actor.

However, not many producers in the tinsel town were ready to bet on Paswan’s good-looking son, who, though, had all the prerequisites to be an actor— Tall, fair and handsome, with deep baritone.

It is believed that Ram Vilas Paswan then intervened in 2011 and a movie Miley Na Miley Hum with lead actor Kangana Ranaut went to the floors.

Chirag was the lead player opposite Kangana, who, by then, was an established actor.

The movie, which also starred Sagarika Ghatge (of Chak De India fame), had an item number from the then top TV actor Shweta Tiwary. But despite all the masala, Chirag’s debut movie sank like a titanic.

This was the second setback for Chirag. Earlier, he had reportedly discontinued his B Tech in Computer Sciences from Bundelkhand University.

Born in Bihar on October 31, 1982, Chirag was an average student who completed his Class X and XII from National Institute of Open Schooling, New Delhi.

Ladyluck, however, smiled on him in January 2014. Ram Vilas Paswan was then in a dilemma whether to continue his ties with the UPA (as he shared a personal rapport with Congress president Sonia Gandhi), at a time when the BJP was extending him an olive branch to join the NDA and work under the leadership of Narendra Modi.

It was then that Chirag stepped into the scene. He made a clean breast that instead of joining hands with an “indecisive Rahul Gandhi” (who, in 2014, was taking too long to finalise poll pact), the LJP would be part of the NDA and “will endorse Modi’s leadership.”

The gamble paid off. Paswan, who earlier served under five prime ministers— V P Singh, Deve Gowda, I K Gujral, A B Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh— was ready to be sworn-in in the Cabinet of sixth Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Chirag too became a Lok Sabha member from Maoist-infested Jamui (in May 2014) and was eventually appointed chairman of the LJP Parliamentary Board.

On Tuesday, his coronation as the LJP national president was another feather to his cap.