Day after Bihar snub, Pashupati Paras quits Modi govt, looks for Opposition lifeline; BJP counsels patience

From the highs of 2021 to the current low, for Pashupati Kumar Paras it has been a complete turn of fortunes.

Three years ago, following a split in the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) that his brother Ram Vilas Paswan had set up in 2000, his Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) waswelcomed into the BJP-led NDA and he received a Union Cabinet berth. On Tuesday, Paras resigned as the Union Minister of Food Processing Industries, a day after the BJP sided with his rival and nephew Chirag Paswan and gave his LJP (Ram Vilas) five Lok Sabha seats in Bihar.

A dejected Paras told reporters in Delhi, “I have served the NDA with great honesty and loyalty. Even today, I am thankful to the PM. But with our party, and at an individual level with me, injustice has been done. So, I am resigning as a Cabinet Minister.”

In a letter to PM Narendra Modi, the former minister wrote, “I want to inform you that I am resigning as Union Minister because of some unavoidable reasons. I thank you for reposing faith in me as my stint as a member of the Union Cabinet.”

Amid speculation that the former Union Minister might join the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan that is part of the national INDIA alliance and contest from Hajipur, BJP insiders said their party’s doors were not completely shut for him. At his press conference, Paras avoided using any harsh words for either the BJP or his nephew.

“It was Chirag’s condition that Paras be kept out even if it meant a seat less for the LJP (RV). However, Paras will gain little by joining the INDIA bloc. He should remain patient. The BJP is always wary of annoying any section of Dalits in Bihar. He will get something in the long run if he sticks with the NDA,” said a state BJP leader.

However, RJD insiders said Paras was