Chirag Paswan | A keen negotiator

A streak of vermillion bisects Chirag Paswan’s forehead. From his wrist till halfway to his elbow, sacred threads cover his arm and multiple rings with various stones, each for distinct astrological reasons, adorn his hand. Neatly styled dark hair, immaculately trimmed beard, white kurta, and blue jeans complete the look. This is a carefully cultivated image, strikingly different from his old self with blonde streaked hair and a bulked-up body dressed in vivid coloured suits.

The transformation reflects his political journey: from being the political heir to his father Ram Vilas Paswan who founded the Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJP) to reconstructing the stump of the party left to him after his uncle Pashupati Nath Paras walked away with four Lok Sabha MPs in June 2021. Today he is a Cabinet minister and is counted as a prominent player in Bihar politics.

The script of his life resembles a Bollywood potboiler — a genre he understands very well. He often self-deprecatingly says, “I know a bad film; I have acted one after all”. He had a brief stint in the Hindi film industry. He bowed out after his debut film tanked.

His career as a film star may have failed to take off, but as a political actor he has gained heft in Bihar, managing to get 29 seats to contest the coming elections under the NDA banner, despite his party’s dismal record in previous polls. Significantly, this is at least nine more than what JD(U) was willing to spare. For him, it was goldilocks spot, since he also managed to wrest at least “80%” of seats of his choice. Nearly, everyone in the alliance, from Nitish Kumar, to Hindustan Awam Morcha’s Jitan Ram Manjhi and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party’s Upendra Kushwaha, expressed discontent at the generous share given to the LJP.

The LJP formed in 2000 by his father and now in its splintered avatar has got only 5% vote share in Bihar Assembly. In the current assembly, neither faction has a single legislator. In the February 2005 polls, when the Bihar electorate threw up a hung Assembly, the LJP won 29 seats, their highest tally so far.

In the run-up to polls, Mr. Paswan had declared that he would contest from Shahbad region, where the NDA had performed badly. The party furiously backpedalled, claiming that had they got more seats, Mr. Paswan would have contested. For the NDA, it was a relief. There is already growing uncertainty with various statements on Nitish Kumar continuing as Chief Minister if the NDA wins. Mr. Paswan would have added to the confusion, had he contested the Assembly polls.

New alliance

The LJP will be contesting alongside Nitish Kumar and campaigning for votes on his behalf for the very first time this year. Paswans constitute the core votebank of the party. In 2007, Mr. Kumar carved out the Mahadalit group, ostensibly to provide special government assistance to those marginalised within the Scheduled Caste. Out of the 22 sub-castes, 21 were categorised under this category, excluding the Paswans. Would an electorate fed on criticism of Mr. Kumar by both father and son be keen to vote for him now? Mr. Paswan himself has been critical of the Nitish Kumar administration.

Mr. Paswan, whose father Ram Vilas Paswan was one of the leading Dalit leaders from Bihar, hasn’t quite earned his spurs as a Dalit leader. In the first two months in the Cabinet, the government went on to endorse his public positions on two key issues. The government rejected the Supreme Court ruling asking for exclusion of ‘creamy layer’ among Dalits from the purview of quotas, after protest from Mr. Paswan. The government also withheld the decision of lateral entry as proposed by the UPSC, which he had stood against. Though he speaks out often on such issues he sees the tag ‘Dalit leader’ as limiting. He would rather call himself a ‘Bahujan’ leader — appealing to a wider array of caste and communities.

Mr. Paswan will turn 43 on October 30. In Indian political lexicon he is still a young leader. “I am not here for a short sprint. I have 30-years of political career ahead,” he often says, hinting at many sharp curves in the road ahead.