Rise Of The Young Gun: Chirag Paswan's Stellar Show In Bihar

This year's Bihar elections will be remembered for an NDA sweep and the potent combination of JDU chief Nitish Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but it will also be marked as the time a young leader truly established himself in the state after the era of the socialist icons.

Having bargained hard to get 29 constituencies for his Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) in the top-heavy NDA, party chief Chirag Paswan appears to have proved his mettle by leading in 20 - a strike rate of 69%. The fact that this comes after the party won all five seats it contested in the Lok Sabha elections last year and had almost been written off after the 2020 Assembly polls will only help establish Paswan's political credentials. Live updates here.

In 2020, the then-united LJP contested independently because of differences with JDU chief Nitish Kumar and won only one of the over 130 seats it contested.  Even though the party managed to get a decent vote share and played spoiler for the JDU in several seats, many political analysts thought Chirag did not have the charisma and political acumen to carry forward the legacy of his father, Ram Vilas Paswan, seen as a colossus in Bihar politics. 

Making things worse for Chirag, the party split in 2021 after his uncle, Pashupati Kumar Paras, also made a bid for ownership of Ram Vilas Paswan's legacy.

Then came a hard-fought resurgence. At 43 years old, young by Indian political standards, Chirag positioned himself as a youth leader - calling himself a 'Yuva Bihari' - while sticking to his party's roots of championing the Dalit cause. 

The hard work put in by Chirag and the rest of his party paid off in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when it won all five constituencies it contested, establishing itself as a serious player with a 100% strike rate. 

Despite the success, however, the key parties of the NDA, the BJP and the JDU, were said to be reluctant to cede more than 20 of Bihar's 243 constituencies to the LJP (RV) for the Assembly elections. Chirag then reportedly opened negotiations with Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party, signalling that he was not willing to be taken for granted, and eventually wrangled 29 constituencies from the ruling alliance. 

Giving a strong reply to his critics, Chirag has, in fact, led his party to its best-ever Assembly polls performance. The last time the LJP (then united and led by Ram Vilas Paswan) had won over 20 seats was in February 2005, when its figure was 29. That number had come when the party was contesting 178 seats, making this year's showing more impressive. 

What Next?

Chirag had indicated before the elections that he would make a pitch for a deputy chief minister post while also tempering expectations of his party workers who, he said, would like to see him in the topmost post in the state. 

"The Chief Minister's post has never been vacant in 2025. I respect the sentiments of party workers. I agree that they must aspire to see their leader in the topmost post. If your worker doesn't believe you can reach the top post, then you have failed to motivate them. I always wanted my father Ram Vilas Paswan ji to become the Prime Minister," he had told NDTV in an exclusive pre-poll interview.

"I don't know what the future holds. But I first cross a level and then decide on the next strategy. My immediate priorities after the Bihar elections are the Uttar Pradesh and Punjab polls in 2027. Then in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, I want to see my prime minister get elected for the fourth time. And then we will focus on 2030," he said.

Days before the results, Chirag also reiterated his unwavering loyalty to PM Modi, dismissing the possibility of allying with someone else if the numbers turned out to be different than the NDA expected. 

"I do speak with Priyanka (Gandhi) ji, and I want to emphasise again that as long as my Prime Minister is there, I am absolutely not going anywhere. My dedication and my love remain. I love him a bit too much," he said.

'Landslide Win'

Terming it a "landslide win" for the NDA, LJP(RV) MP Shambhavi Chaudhary told NDTV the core reason for the victory was the alliance's "development-oriented politics".

To a question whether this sets the stage for Chirag Paswan to emerge as the top leader of the extremely backward classes by 2030, Chaudhary said the party's current focus is on delivering on its promises.