CHIRAG JUMPS INTO FRAY

LJP chief Chirag Paswan declares his intent to contest the Bihar polls, positions himself as possible heir to the NDA leadership in the state

- By Amitabh Srivastava

ON JUNE 20, as Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan shared the stage at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Siwan, Nitish, according to Chirag's brother-in-law and party MP Arun Bharti, enquired whether Chirag was contesting the upcoming assembly election. “Chirag,” says Bharti, “replied that should the LJP so decide, he'd seek the CM's blessings.”

The exchange may appear cordial, but it reflects the unease simmering within the ruling NDA coalition. For, Chirag is no longer concealing his ambition: to establish himself as the natural heir to the NDA leadership, especially in a post-Nitish set-up. A few days earlier, in Arrah, the 43-year-old leader had proclaimed to rapturous applause, “We will contest from every seat in Bihar...I am leaving it to you to decide from which seat I should contest.”

VAULTING AMBITION