Former Union Minister and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) chief Pashupati Kumar Paras officially announced his party’s exit from the BJP-JD(U) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), ahead of the Bihar Assembly Elections. He alleged that the BJP-led coalition had consistently sidelined and disrespected the RLJP due to its Dalit-centric focus.
“I was with the NDA from 2014 till date. We were loyal allies of the NDA. You must have seen that when Lok Sabha elections were held, people of NDA did injustice to our party, as it is a Dalit party. Still, in the national interest, our party decided to support NDA in the elections,” ANI quoted Pashupati Kumar Paras as saying.
Paras made the declaration at a function organised in Bihar on the occasion of BR Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, on Monday, April 14.
The RJLP chief had resigned from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet after his party was denied any seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
‘Bihar wants to elect a new govt’
Speaking at the RLJP function, Pashupati Kumar Paras — a former minister in the Nitish Kumar government — also launched a sharp attack on the JD(U) chief, accusing him of being “anti-Dalit.”
As per PTI, Paras also claimed that after “touring 22 out of Bihar’s 38 districts”, he sensed a strong public desire for change, stating, “Bihar wants to elect a new government.”
The RJLP head also raised a demand for conferring Bharat Ratna on Ram Vilas Paswan, calling him the “second Ambedkar”.
RJLP’s formation
The Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) was formed in 2021 following a split in the Lok Janshakti Party, which was originally founded by Pashupati Kumar Paras’s late brother, Ram Vilas Paswan.
Paras stepped down from his Union Cabinet position in 2024 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, after his estranged nephew Chirag Paswan’s faction — the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) — was allotted five seats to contest as part of the NDA alliance.
The former Union Minister was also asked to vacate the government bungalow in Bihar from which he operated his party. The residence was subsequently reallocated to Chirag Paswan.