Ahead of Bihar bypolls, LJP factions fight over party symbol
NEW DELHI: The Chirag Paswan-led faction of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) has written to the Election Commission (EC) stating that Union minister Pashupati Paras’ claims of being elected as the party president are “false” and should be “rejected” within a week or before the notification of the Bihar assembly bypolls for the Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan constituencies.
Both the Paswan and Paras factions will be fielding candidates in the yet to be announced bypolls, and both have claimed the right to use the party’s name and symbol. EC must see which group has a majority in the organisational and legislative wings to decide which faction’s claim can be accepted. So far, said an EC official, the Paras faction has not filed any petition to claim LJP’s symbol and name.
On June 16, Paras wrote to the EC that he has been elected as the leader of the parliamentary party and a new president will be elected at a national executive meeting. A day later, Suraj Bhan Singh signing as the returning officer/ acting president informed the poll panel that Paras has been elected as the national president of the party.
Paswan faction’s letter to EC dated September 23 states that the so-called election that Paras claims made him the party leader does not fulfil the requirement of Rule 15 of the Election Symbol (Reservation Allotment) Order, 1968.
“The party’s constitution was amended in 2014 at the national executive and was approved by the open house (a collective of all district presidents) in 2017 in Gaya. It was the constitution that increased the term of the president from three years to five and stated that the president can only be changed if s/he voluntarily steps down or dies. Since Chirag was elected in 2019, a decision to which Paras was a signatory, he is the sole authority to sign the forms of candidates fighting on the party ticket,” said Abdul Khaliq, the party’s national general secretary.
Khaliq also mentioned that he informed EC in June that Paras’ claims of being the party president violate the party’s constitution.
On June 15, Paras, along with four other Lok Sabha MPs, staged a coup against Paswan and declared he did not enjoy the support of the party leaders. They wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that the party’s parliamentary board at a meeting on June 13 decided that Paras will be the parliamentary party leader in the Lok Sabha. Friction between Paswan and Paras, who is also his uncle, deepened after the passing away of Ram Vilas Paswan, the LJP founder, and exacerbated when Paswan junior decided that LJP will contest the Bihar assembly election alone and attacked Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar.
In a letter dated June 21, Singh informed the poll panel that as per the party’s constitution, one person cannot hold multiple positions in the organisation and it was imperative to hold elections to the office of the president following the demise of Ram Vilas Paswan.
He went to say that as election officer he received only the nomination of Pashupati Paras for the post of president and during the election process, all members of the national council present in the meeting unanimously supported his candidature.
Khaliq, however, dismissed these claims as contradictory to the party constitution and said that the Paras faction needs to move court if they want to chaland lenge Paswan’s presidency.
“The EC had forwarded Paras’ letter stating his elevation as party president for us to submit our report. However, it is not the mandate of the poll panel to decide the party’s leadership issue. Their remit is limited to deciding the symbol and the party’s name. If they (Paras faction) want to claim leadership they should file a petition in the civil court,” Khaliq said.
In August, the Paswan faction took exception to the EC not referring to Chirag Paswan as the LJP president in a letter addressed to him. “It was conveyed in November 2019 and in January 2021 to the EC that Chirag has been appointed as the president for a period of five years. We said the EC does not have the power to adjudicate in matters raised by members of the party who have been expelled.
Khaliq said at the national executive meeting held on June 15, 2021, in Patna it was unanimously decided to expel Paras, and four other Lok Sabha MPs Prince Raj, Veena Devi, Chandan Singh and MA Quaiser for anti-party activities.
“Therefore, any national executive meeting called by Paras is illegal,” he said.
Mahtab Alam, vice-president of a Bihar unit of LJP with the Paras faction said they will stake a claim to the party symbol and name. “There is still time for the bypoll. We will move the EC for giving us the name and the symbol and submit the documents as well,” he said.