Chirag Paswan expels five rebel MPs, they oust him as LJP chief

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 15

A day after removing Chirag Paswan as the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader in the Lok Sabha, five rebel MPs led by his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras today removed him as the president of the party, founded by his late father Ram Vilas Paswan.

The rebel faction named Lok Sabha MP Surajbhan Singh as the LJP working president. In a tit-for-tat, Chirag expelled the five rebel MPs from the party. With the two factions acting against each other in an attempt to take control of the party, the matter is likely to reach the Election Commission. Both sides claim themselves to be the “true representative” of the party even as the Lok Sabha Secretariat had yesterday recognised Paras as the LJP leader in the House.

While Chirag has been isolated in the parliamentary party as all other MPs have backed Paras, sources said he continued to enjoy the support of other LJP leaders.

Sources said the rebel group would now seek to remove Chirag as the leader of the LJP parliamentary board, stripping him of every position he took control of after the death of his father just ahead of Bihar Assembly elections last year.

Sources said MP Surajbhan would function as the working president till a new president was elected at an LJP national executive meeting expected to be called soon.