Ahead of Bihar Elections, Chirag Paswan Recalls Father Ram Vilas Paswan's Reluctance to Join BJP in 2014

With Bihar gearing up for a high-stakes assembly election, political alliances are beginning to shift, and familiar names are returning to the spotlight. Union Minister Chirag Paswan, now positioning himself as a key player in the state’s political landscape, has revisited a crucial chapter from the past—his late father Ram Vilas Paswan's strong opposition to aligning with the BJP before the 2014 general elections.

“He once told me, ‘I’d rather poison myself than go with the BJP.’ After hearing that, I had nothing more to say,” Chirag revealed in a recent interview with Jist, referring to a time when the late leader remained staunchly opposed to joining hands with the party led by Narendra Modi, who was then making his national debut.

Ram Vilas Paswan—one of India’s most prominent Dalit leaders and a veteran of central politics—had served as a minister under six prime ministers, from both the Congress-led UPA and the BJP-led NDA. Chirag said that his father’s eventual return to the NDA was not immediate or easy.

“Between November 2013 and mid-February 2014, we kept trying to meet Rahul Gandhi, but it never happened. We met Sonia Gandhi several times, and each time we were told a meeting with Rahul ji would be arranged, but it never came through,” he said. Eventually, with little response from the Congress leadership, and shifting political dynamics, Ram Vilas Paswan agreed to ally with the BJP.

This was a significant reversal. He had earlier walked out of the NDA in protest against the 2002 Gujarat riots, when Narendra Modi was Chief Minister. The decision to return to the NDA in 2014 was a pivotal political move, shaped as much by circumstances as by strategic calculation.

Now, with Bihar elections around the corner, Chirag is positioning himself as a major contender. In the interview, he declared, “I will contest in all 243 seats. Every segment will see Chirag Paswan fighting with full intensity.” It’s unclear whether he meant literally contesting every seat through his Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), or was speaking more symbolically about his influence across the state.

Despite being a junior ally in the BJP-led NDA coalition, which includes Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), Chirag made it clear that he holds no grudges over the 2021 split in his party, when the BJP appeared to side with his uncle Pashupati Nath Paras. That rift had temporarily weakened his political position, but by the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Chirag was back in the BJP camp—while his uncle was out.

Looking back at the 2020 Bihar assembly elections, Chirag had fielded candidates in over 130 seats but managed to win just one. Still, he claimed to have achieved his goal: weakening Nitish Kumar’s party and boosting the BJP’s prospects, despite receiving no formal alliance or acknowledgment from them at the time.

In his latest comments, Chirag also reflected on his broader political vision. Known for his strong appeal among a specific Dalit caste group, he said he hoped to move beyond identity politics. “I want the youth to identify not just with caste, but with progress,” he said.

As alliances shift and ambitions grow, Chirag Paswan appears ready to play a high-stakes role in shaping Bihar’s political future—one rooted in legacy, yet focused on the road ahead.