Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswan is taking out an Ashirvaad Yatra in Hajipur, Bihar, from today to mark the birth anniversary of his father, late Ram Vilas Paswan.
“I am starting this journey on my father’s birth anniversary. We got more over 2.5 million votes in the last assembly election. This was about 6% of all votes even when we fielded candidates only in 135 seats. I should have gone to people to thank them and seek their blessings. But because of Covid-19 and due to my bad health, I could not do that. Now I need to seek the blessings of people when my own family members, my uncle, have gone against me and backstabbed me when I was ill,” he said.
Hajipur is significant, said Chirag, because Ram Vilas Paswan was elected to Lok Sabha several times from here, making it his “karmabhoomi”. Chirag will also be laying a wreath on Dr Ambedkar’s statue at Patna high court.
The first leg of his yatra will cover 12-13 districts. “After the first phase, there will be a second phase as well and in the next one and a half months, I will cover the entire state. The yatra will end in a national council meeting in Patna,” he said.
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LJP vice-president and national spokesperson Ajay Kumar Pandey said, “Chirag ji says now that he doesn’t have the support of his family elders, after his uncle left him, people are the only source of his support. He hopes people will support him like they supported his father.”
Besides the ceremonies planned by political leaders in Paswan’s memory, the late leader’s wife Reena Paswan will be launching a book written by journalist Pradeep Shrivastava, titled ‘Ramvilas Paswan: Sankalp, Sahas Aur Sangharsh’.
The LJP faction led by Ram Vilas Paswan’s brother Pashupati Kumar Paras will also be celebrating the late leader’s birth anniversary at the party’ state headquarters in Patna. Currently, Paras represents Hajipur in Lok Sabha.
Monday also marks the beginning of the silver jubilee celebrations of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), whose leader Tejashwi Yadav had held out an olive branch to Chirag and reminded him of the close bond between their fathers. RJD’s programme includes a special mention of the garlanding of late Ram Vilas Paswan’s portrait.