india

Updated: Nov 05, 2019 19:23 IST

After helming the Lok Janshakti Party for 19 years, Ram Vilas Paswan on Tuesday stepped down from his post to make way for the appointment of his son and MP Chirag Paswan as the new party president.

Chirag Paswan, the two-term MP from the Jamui Lok Sabha constituency, was unanimously elected president at the national executive meeting of the party.

“Workers have been pressing for young leadership. All MPs have backed the demand. I am confident, he will steer the party in the right direction for delivering justice to poor and downtrodden,” said Ram Vilas Paswan in Delhi.

The newly elected party president assured leaders that he would work in close collaboration with senior leaders and workers for strengthening the party and taking it forward for delivering on its principles of social justice without compromising on its stand.

Outgoing president Ram Vilas Paswan had been dropping hints that the LJP was heading for a generational shift and Chirag would be replacing him shortly.

The decision to name Chirag Paswan as president comes ahead of 2020 assembly elections in Bihar. The junior Paswan is said to have played a crucial role in the LJP joining NDA in 2014.

Recently, the union minister oversaw the appointment of his nephew Prince Raj, who won the Samastipur Lok Sabha by-poll following the death of his father Ramchandra Paswan, as the state president of the party in Bihar.

Chirag Paswan has been involved in taking key decisions like seat sharing and candidate selection as chairman of the party’s parliamentary board. But now he will be in complete command of party affairs. However, the senior Paswan, sources say, will continue to be the patron of the party.

The meeting passed resolutions and also decided to launch its membership drive on its foundation day on November 28.

Chirag, who had a brief stint in films, emerged on the political scene by defeating RJD candidate Sudhanshu Shekhar in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. He retained his Jamui seat in 2019 general polls by defeating RLSP’s Bhudeo Chaudhary.

The LJP draws its strength from the support of Dalits. This support base, coupled with its capacity for making deft alignments, has kept the party relevant as a much sought after ally in state politics.