Exit NDA, enter Mahagathbandhan? All eyes on Pashupati Paras' next move amid realignment buzz in Bihar

Pashupati Kumar Paras

Former Union minister and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party leader Pashupati Kumar Paras, who walked out of the NDA after being "ignored", is likely to join the RJD-led Grand Alliance in Bihar, The Indian Express has reported quoting sources.

On Monday, Paras, who is the brother of late LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan, announced that he is exiting the BJP-led NDA in Bihar since it has chosen to back his estranged nephew Chirag Paswan.

"I have been with the NDA since 2014. Today I announce that henceforth my party shall have no links with the NDA," said Paras, who gave up his cabinet berth ahead of last year's Lok Sabha polls when his nephew's Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) got five seats to contest as an NDA constituent.

Sources told the newspaper that the Tejashwi-led alliance may give a few seats to RLJP in the Bihar assembly elections due later this year.

An RJD leader told Indian Express that Paras' RLJP is likely to cut into the voter base of Chirag Paswan's faction, hurting the NDA.

Notably, Paras had recently met RJD supremo Lalu Prasad but kept his future plans vague. “I wish to soon complete the tour of the remaining 16 districts and strengthen the party in all 243 Assembly segments of the state,” he had said.

The likely inclusion of Paras' faction into the Mahagathbandhan will also queer the political pitch in the state, where Scheduled Castes (SCs) comprise nearly 20% of the total population — with the Paswan community forming a significant portion.

In the 2020 Bihar elections, the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan won 110 seats in the 243-member assembly while the BJP-led NDA secured 125 constituencies.

'Snubbed' by NDA

Among the seats contested — and won — by the LJP (Ram Vilas) was Hajipur, the late Ram Vilas Paswan's stronghold.

The seat, bagged by his brother Pashupati Kumar Paras in 2019, is now represented by Union minister Chirag Paswan.

Notably, despite being sidelined by the NDA, Paras had tried to retain a foothold in the coalition by meeting top leaders, including BJP president JP Nadda.

In last year’s bypolls to five Assembly constituencies, Paras' claim on one seat was ignored. His proposed candidate joined BJP, which instead gave a ticket to the candidate’s son.

Adding to the snub, Paras was made to vacate the government bungalow from where he operated his party. The bungalow was subsequently allotted to Chirag.

Paras had split from his nephew following the latter’s rebellion against chief minister Nitish Kumar during the 2020 Assembly elections.