Chirag Breaks Hajipur Bind in Bihar, Files Nomination Papers with Pomp

Chirag Paswan, son of late Ram Vilas Paswan, filed his nomination from Hajipur to cement his claim as successor. BJP supports Paswan despite backing his uncle Paras initially. Deputy CM and Union Minister Nityanand Rai showed solidarity. Paswan, who shifted from Jamui, faced large crowds in Hajipur. Before leaving Patna, he paid respects to his mother and expressed his father's absence.

With immense fanfare, Chirag Paswan on Thursday filed his nomination papers from the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat, where he has entered the fray to cement his position as the true heir to late father Ram Vilas Paswan's legacy.

Chirag, who headed the Lok Janshakti Party floated by late Paswan till it was split by the latter's younger brother Pashupati Kumar Paras, now heads the LJP (Ram Vilas).

The BJP, which had initially thrown its weight behind Paras, the sitting MP from Hajipur, who was also rewarded with the cabinet berth, decided to back Chirag Paswan ahead of the Lok Sabha polls this year.

The who's who of BJP in Bihar, including Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and Nityanand Rai, the Union minister of state for Home who had headed the party's state unit in the past, drove to Hajipur, situated right across the Ganges from Patna, by way of solidarity.

The 41-year-old leader, who has shifted base from Jamui, having represented that seat for two consecutive terms, was greeted by massive crowds in Hajipur where he also held an impressive roadshow.

Earlier, before leaving his Patna residence, Paswan offered prayers and shared a few emotional moments with his mother Reena, which were captured on camera and shared by the young leader on social media.

''I am terribly missing my father. This is the first time when I will have to file nomination papers with him not around. He was there to bless me both in 2014 and 2019,'' Paswan told reporters.

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