Chirag Paswan -- the son of ailing Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan -- was elected unanimously as the new national president of LJP on Tuesday, November 5. With today's announcement, Chirag has replaced his father as the LJP president ahead of the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections.
Ram Vilas Paswan handed over the LJP's reins to his son in the national executive meeting today at the Union Minister's 12 Janpath residence. The meeting was attended by the party's state chiefs.
Chirag Paswan, the second term Lok Sabha member from Jamui in Bihar, has been the key decision-maker in LJP for a while. He was also the chairman of LJP's central parliamentary board.
Meanwhile, 73-year-old Ram Vilas Paswan will be the party's founder-patron from now on, reports NDTV.
When was the LJP formed?
The LJP was formed in 2000 by its chief Ram Vilas Paswan after he parted ways from the Janata Dal (United). In the 2019 national elections, the LJP won six seats in Bihar. It had won the same number of seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as well.
The LJP draws its support from a section of Dalits in Bihar.
