Patna: Chirag Paswan, the outspoken critic of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the past three and a half years, had a significant meeting with him on Thursday.
The meeting took place with Bihar BJP President and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, State Health Minister Mangal Pandey, and JDU Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Jha also in attendance.
Relations between these two leaders had soured significantly since the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections.
However, following Nitish Kumar’s return to the NDA two months ago and Chirag Paswan’s party securing five seats in the NDA for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, this meeting holds notable significance.
Chirag Paswan was notably present on Thursday during the nomination of his party’s Lok Janshakti candidate from Jamui, following by his brother-in-law Arun Bharti.
Additionally, he attended the nomination of Hindustani Awam Morcha President Jitan Ram Manjhi from Gaya.
The deterioration in their relationship stemmed from Chirag Paswan’s fervent determination to unseat Nitish Kumar from power after assuming leadership of the party following his father Ram Vilas Paswan’s demise. This led to the fielding of his candidates against JDU candidates across the state during the assembly elections.
Despite Nitish Kumar securing the Chief Ministerial position after the election, several of his candidates suffered defeat, attributed to Chirag Paswan’s decisions.
Subsequently, when the Lok Janshakti Party split under the leadership of Chirag Paswan’s uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras, allegations surfaced pointing towards Nitish Kumar’s involvement.
These factors greatly strained the relations between the two leaders over time.