Lok Janashakti Party
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The Lok Janshakti Party ( LJP, "People’s Manpower Party") was a state
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
mainly based in the state of
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The party was formed in 2000 when
Ram Vilas Paswan Ram Vilas Paswan (5 July 19468 October 2020) was an Indian politician from Bihar and the Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the first and second Modi ministries. Paswan was also the president of the Lok Jansh ...
split from
Janata Dal Janata Dal (“People’s Party”) was an Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Indian National Congress (Jagjivan), and the Jan Morcha united on 11 October 1988 on the birth annive ...
. The party had a considerable following amongst
Dalits Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...
in Bihar. The Party is factioned into two parties
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is an Indian political party formed in 2021 under the leadership of Chirag Paswan. It has recently been allotted a new symbol by the Election Commission, separate from the main Lok Janshakti Party. It is now on ...
and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party.


History

In 2000, late
Ram Vilas Paswan Ram Vilas Paswan (5 July 19468 October 2020) was an Indian politician from Bihar and the Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the first and second Modi ministries. Paswan was also the president of the Lok Jansh ...
formed the Lok Janshakti Party as its president. Along with Paswan his brother,
Ram Chandra Paswan Ram Chandra Paswan (1 January 1962 – 21 July 2019) was elected four times to Lok Sabha : in 1999 and 2004 from Rosera (Lok Sabha constituency), and later in 2014 and 2019 from Samastipur constituency of Bihar. At the time of his death, he w ...
, Capt. Jai Narain Prasad Nishad and
Ramesh Jigajinagi Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi (born 28 June 1952) is an Indian politician from Karnataka and currently a member of Lok Sabha. He was Union Minister of State for Drinking Water and Sanitation in 2016. He was member of the Twelfth, Thirteenth, Four ...
also joined the party. LJP contested the polls in alliance with the
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
and the Rashtriya Janata Dal and won four Lok Sabha seats.
Ram Vilas Paswan Ram Vilas Paswan (5 July 19468 October 2020) was an Indian politician from Bihar and the Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the first and second Modi ministries. Paswan was also the president of the Lok Jansh ...
remained a Union Minister in
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers in India is the federal ministry with administrative purview over three departments namely: *Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals *Department of Fertilizers. *Department of Pharmaceuticals. T ...
and Ministry of Steel. In the 2005 Bihar assembly polls held in February the party contested in alliance with the Congress and against the RJD and won 29 assembly seats. However no alliance could secure majority and party refused to give support to any alliance to form the Government. There were rumours that certain party MLAs were ready to defect to JD(U) allowing the formation of an NDA Government. In a controversial episode, President's rule was imposed in the State and after a few months Bihar's state assembly was dissolved. Elections were again held in October month in which NDA came to power with a thumping majority with
Nitish Kumar Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician, who is serving as Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. The leader of the Janata Dal (Unit ...
as the Chief Minister. Party had fielded its candidates in 203 seats of which party could win only 10 seats. The party contested the 2009 Lok Sabha General elections in an alliance called fourth front which constituted the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Lok Janshakti Party and the Samajwadi Party. This move proved to be disastrous, since LJP couldn't win a single seat, and RJD were reduced to 4 seats in the
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...
. After the election Laloo Prasad Yadav, admitted that it was a mistake to leave the UPA, and gave unconditional support to Manmohan Singh and the newly formed UPA government. Jan Morcha the party founded by former Prime Minister
Vishwanath Pratap Singh Vishwanath Pratap Singh (25 June 1931 – 27 November 2008), shortened to V. P. Singh, was an Indian politician who was the 7th Prime Minister of India from 1989 to 1990 and the 41st Raja Bahadur of Manda. He is India's only prime minister ...
was merged with the LJP in March 2009. Jan Morcha president Ajeya Pratap Singh, son of
Vishwanath Pratap Singh Vishwanath Pratap Singh (25 June 1931 – 27 November 2008), shortened to V. P. Singh, was an Indian politician who was the 7th Prime Minister of India from 1989 to 1990 and the 41st Raja Bahadur of Manda. He is India's only prime minister ...
, was immediately appointed a senior LJP functionary. On the more disastrous side LJP suffered a major jolt when, its entire
Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...
Unit merged with the Congress before the 2009 elections citing that Paswan had ignored them. Paswan then announced the dissolution of party's Jharkhand Unit. In 2010 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, the party had contested in an alliance with Rashtriya Janata Dal. However party could secure only 6.75% votes winning only 3 seats which was 7 less than the previous elections in 2006. In August 2011, there were claims made by the Speaker of the
Bihar Legislative Assembly The Bihar Legislative Assembly, also known as the Bihar Vidhan Sabha, is the lower house of the Bihar Legislature where the first elections were held in 1952. The total strength of membership in the Assembly was 331, including one nominated ...
that the party had merged with JD(U) as 2 of the 3 MLAs of the party had joined JD(U). However the party had denied any such move. On 27 February 2014, Lok Janshakti Party officially announced it re-entering the National Democratic Alliance led by
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...
, after a gap of 12 years. It contested 7 Lok Sabha seats from Bihar in 2014 Indian general election. LJP won 6 of the 7 seats it contested including
Ram Vilas Paswan Ram Vilas Paswan (5 July 19468 October 2020) was an Indian politician from Bihar and the Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the first and second Modi ministries. Paswan was also the president of the Lok Jansh ...
and his son Chirag Paswan.
Ram Vilas Paswan Ram Vilas Paswan (5 July 19468 October 2020) was an Indian politician from Bihar and the Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the first and second Modi ministries. Paswan was also the president of the Lok Jansh ...
resigned from his
Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
seat. He was also made Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in the NDA government that came to power on 26 May 2014. In
2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly election The Legislative Assembly election was held over five-phases in Bihar through October–November 2015 before the end of the tenure of the prior Legislative Assembly of Bihar on 29 November 2015. In April 2015, the Janata Parivar group (a group ...
, the party contested in an alliance with
BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...
-led National Democratic Alliance. It contested 40 seats out of 243 in the assembly. It won only two seats, one less than the last election in 2010. In 2017, Pashupati Paras brother of Ram Vilas was inducted into Nitish Kumar cabinet as Minister of Animal & Fish Resources after
Janata Dal (United) Janata Dal (United) ("People’s Party (United)”) abbreviated as JD(U) is an Indian political party with political presence mainly in eastern and north-eastern India. JD(U) is recognised as a state party in the states of Bihar , Arunachal Pr ...
joined
BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...
-led National Democratic Alliance.


2020 Bihar Assembly Elections

After the entry of Lok Janshakti Party in National Democratic Alliance in 2014, the NDA's principal parties in Bihar namely LJP,
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...
and
Rashtriya Lok Samta Party Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (abbreviated as RLSP; translation: ''National People's Equity Party'') was a political party in India led by Upendra Kushwaha. It was launched on 3 March 2013 and was based in the state of Bihar. The party came into exi ...
had contested against the JD(U) – Rashtriya Janata Dal-
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
Mahagathbandhan alliance in 2015 and further until 2020 Bihar Assembly Election. On the question of seat sharing for the 2020 Assembly elections, the LJP under the presidency of Chirag Paswan decided to quit NDA and fight on 143 Assembly seats alone. This turned out to be the single most important reason for the poor electoral performance of JD(U) led by Nitish Kumar. The Quint reported, if LJP would have formed a pre poll alliance with BJP, National Democratic Alliance would have won additional 38 seats. The parliamentary committee of LJP however decided to support BJP in and outside the state with the number of seats they win in the state while contesting solely. The move as per party leadership was to oppose JD(U) while allying with the BJP. The way for the party was not though easy as it was to face a number of coalitions and political parties which were contesting the elections with their support bases.


LJP crisis 2021

Chirag Paswan expelled five rebel MPs. Paras-led camp removed him as party chief. Leaving the split wide open in the Lok Janshakti Party, five MPs led by Pasupati Paras on Tuesday claimed that they have removed party national president Chirag Paswan from the post. However, Paswan said that LJP called a national executive meeting and removed the five rebel MPs from the party's primary membership. The latest development came a day after five of the party MPs rebelled against late Ram Vilas Paswan's son Chirag. The five MPs –
Pashupati Kumar Paras Pashupati Kumar Paras (born 12 July 1952) is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the Minister of Food Processing Industries in the Government of India. He is currently serving as a member of Lok Sabha from Hajipur (Lok Sabha const ...
(Hajipur), Choudhary Mehboob Ali Qaisar (Khagaria), Chandan Kumar (Nawada),
Veena Devi Veena Devi (born 22 April 1967) is an Indian politician and the current Member of parliament from Vaishali. She is a former member of Bihar Legislative Assembly from the Gaighat constituency. In the 2019 Indian general election, she conteste ...
(Vaishali) and
Prince Raj Prince Raj (born 7 July 1989) is an Indian politician. He was elected as Member Of Parliament from Samastipur in a by-poll on 24 October 2019, after the death of his father and sitting MP Ram Chandra Paswan. Prince Raj was appointed president ...
(Samastipur) —met Lok Sabha Speaker
Om Birla Om Birla (born 23 November 1962) is an Indian politician, agriculturist and social worker who is the 17th and current Speaker of the Lok Sabha. He serves as a Member of Parliament from Kota-Bundi constituency in Rajasthan. Prior to parliame ...
on Sunday evening and again on Monday, saying that they have elected Paras as LJP parliamentary party leader and Kaiser as deputy leader. Late Monday night, the Lok Sabha Secretariat issued a circular confirming Paras as leader of the LJP in the Lok Sabha. In his first reaction after his uncle Pashupati Paras ousted him, Paswan likened the organization to a mother who should not be "betrayed". In a tweet, he said he made efforts to keep the party founded by his father
Ram Vilas Paswan Ram Vilas Paswan (5 July 19468 October 2020) was an Indian politician from Bihar and the Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the first and second Modi ministries. Paswan was also the president of the Lok Jansh ...
and his family together but failed. People are supreme in a democracy, Paswan said and thanked those who have kept faith in the party. Paswan also shared a letter he had written to Paras, the youngest brother of his father, in March in which he had highlighted his uncle's unhappiness over a number of issues, including his elevation as the party president. The series of dramatic events came months after the Bihar Assembly elections in October–November last year, in the run-up to which Chirag Paswan had attacked the JD(U) and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and stepped out of the NDA, all along maintaining that he wanted to work with the BJP. The LJP had, however, fared poorly in the elections, with its lone MLA eventually crossing over to the JD(U). After the interpretation of ECI, ECI froze the Lok Janshakti Party name & Symbol "Bungalow" and allot
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is an Indian political party formed in 2021 under the leadership of Chirag Paswan. It has recently been allotted a new symbol by the Election Commission, separate from the main Lok Janshakti Party. It is now on ...
led by Chirag Paswan and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party led by Cabinet Minister
Pashupati Kumar Paras Pashupati Kumar Paras (born 12 July 1952) is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the Minister of Food Processing Industries in the Government of India. He is currently serving as a member of Lok Sabha from Hajipur (Lok Sabha const ...
.


References

{{Janata Parivar parties State political parties in Bihar Political parties established in 2000 2000 establishments in Bihar Political parties in India Janata Parivar Janata Dal