[Politics] Ousted By Their Own Kin, Several Political Families Bore Witness to 'Bad Blood' Before Chirag Paswan

[Summon]

 

 

 

The untimely death of Ram Vilas Paswan, the Dalit leader from Bihar in 2020 left a void in Indian politics and in the life of his son Chirag Paswan who was left to carry forward the legacy of his father, a leader with a national appeal.

However, the absence of his father proved harmful for Chirag whose political career was brought to a halt on Monday as was his predicament in Bollywood many years earlier. The sitting Lok Sabha MP from Jamui who called himself PM Modi’s ‘Hanuman’ and donated Rs 1.11 lakh for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya was knocked out in a family coup. Notably, history has been witness to many such political family feuds which led to ousting of future leaders.

 

Chirag Paswan Ousted 

On Monday, five of the six Lok Janshakti Party MPs in Lok Sabha rebelled against Chirag and elected Pashupati Kumar Paras, the youngest brother of the former’s father, in his place, causing a big churn in Bihar politics. A day later, Chirag was sacked from the post of the party’s national president, too.

Interestingly, Chirag was outmaneuvered within months of taking over the mantle by his kin. One of the five-party leaders to revolt against Chirag is his own cousin Prince Raj, the MP from Samastipur. Raj is the son of Ram Chandra Paswan, the former Lok Sabha MP who died in 2019.

 

Naidu Seizes Power from NTR

A seasoned actor NT Rama Rao also had to face the same predicament as Chirag. Entering politics at 60, NTR launched his Telugu Desam Party while his son-in-law, N Chandrababu Naidu was drafted to build the TDP organization. NTR reigned as chief minister of Andhra for as good as 13 years when in 1995 his son-in-law and trusted lieutenant Naidu rebelled against him. Justifying his coup, Naidu said he had been forced to act against his father-in-law because of NTR’s second wife Lakshmi Parvathi’s growing influence over party affairs and on the state government. Overnight, NTR was brought on the streets with his downfall being as dramatic as his spectacular rise.