A poster projecting Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief and Union minister Chirag Paswan as Bihar’s next chief minister appeared in Patna on Monday, fueling fresh speculation about incumbent Nitish Kumar’s successor after the latter recently filed his nomination for Rajya Sabha.
The banner, strategically placed in front of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state headquarters on Beer Chand Patel Marg, read: “No riots, no riots, only Chirag should be the chief minister of Bihar.” He also claimed that a “golden era” would begin in the state if Paswan assumed the top post.
Referring to Paswan as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Hanuman”, the poster read: “Modi ji ka mila apne Hanuman ko ashirwaad, Chirag honge Bihar ke naye sartaaj (Modi ji has blessed his Hanuman, Chirag will be the new leader of Bihar).”
“Bihar maange Chirag; waqt ab aa gaya hai yuva mukhyamantri banane ka; NDA ki hogi sarkar, CM hoga sirf Chirag (Bihar demands Chirag; time has come to appoint a young prime minister; NDA will form the government and only Chirag will be the CM),” the poster read. It also carried the party’s slogan “Bihar first, Bihari first” and the name of Imam Ghazali, district president of the LJP (RV) in Sheikhpura.
The poster has intensified political chatter in the state and revived calls for younger leadership in Bihar, particularly after BJP legislator Nitin Nabin was recently named the party’s national president and Nishant Kumar, the chief minister’s son, formally joined the Janata Dal (United) on Sunday.
Party leaders, however, downplayed the event. Raju Tiwari, state president and LJP (RV) legislator, said the poster should not be overinterpreted.
“The party is not based on the sentiments of individual workers. There is no doubt that they want our national leader Chirag ji as CM of Bihar, but we will abide by our leader’s decision,” he said, adding that he was scheduled to meet Paswan in New Delhi later in the evening.
Rajesh Kumar Bhatt, national spokesperson of the party, said it can be the aspiration of an individual worker. “Every political party worker wants to see their leader at the top, be it the CM or the PM. However, important decisions are taken by the top management,” he said.
Reacting to this development, Abhishek Jha, state spokesperson of the JD(U), said there was nothing unusual about party workers raising such a demand.
“All party workers want to see their supreme leader attain the highest position. It is natural for them to express such aspirations. However, any decision on the prime minister will be taken only after serious discussions among the NDA alliance leaders,” he said.
Meanwhile, Danish Iqbal, the BJP’s state media outlet, did not respond to calls and text messages seeking the party’s reaction to the poster.
The LJP (RV) is one of the five constituents of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar.