A day after Lok Janshakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan underwent a heart surgery at a Delhi hospital, his son and political successor Chirag Paswan announced the party’s decision to break off from the NDA in Bihar and go solo in the upcoming three-phased Assembly elections. A decision that many say is the ‘coming of political age’ moment of Paswan junior.

The 37-year old ‘Yuva Bihari’, as his Twitter bio reads, decided not to contest the election under the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance. But, decided to stay on in the coalition at the Centre as the LJP’s ‘problem’ is with the JD(U) and not the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The LJP, formed in 2000 when Paswan senior broke off from the Janata Dal, plans to contest 140 plus seats this time. In 2015, the party that has a support base mainly among the Paswan caste (5-6 % of the electorate), had contested 42 seats in coalition with BJP as part of the NDA and managed to win two.  In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, they were allotted six seats and won all six.

Chirag, whose Bollywood aspirations saw him featuring in the movie ‘Miley Naa Miley Hum, opposite actor Kangana Ranaut in 2011, has come a long way since. In sharp contrast to his film career, his political career has shown some promise with two electoral wins in Lok Sabha elections since 2014. His takeover of the party, facilitated by father Ram Vilas Paswan, has also been more or less smooth. Sunday’s decision to break off from Nitish Kumar can be seen as his first big solo decision, the consequences of which will be known on November 10, when the votes will be counted.

Before breaking off from Nitish Kumar, Chirag often took potshots at him, posing tougher questions to Nitish Kumar-led NDA government than the Opposition. In early August this year, Chirag created ripples within the NDA alleging that the Bihar CM was ignoring him and hence, he wanted a Common Minimum Programme (CMP).

Though he has been a little subdued past month due to the illness of his father, Chirag did not relent on his demand for 40 plus seats and the deputy chief minister’s post in the state. His aggressive branding of himself as Bihari Yuva and the party’s vision as ‘Bihar 1st, Bihari 1st’ has been in the news. There was a jacket ad in all major newspapers of Bihar where his picture was much bigger than his father’s.

So, having taken full control of the party, what next for him? Will Chirag play Nitish Kumar, like his father played Lalu Yadav?

Back in 2005, Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP fought the election on its own and fielded 178 candidates damaging RJD considerably despite being in the UPA at the Centre. LJP won 29 seats and RJD could not form the government despite being the single largest party with 81 seats.

And Ram Vilas Paswan famously said, “Chabi Tou Hamare Pas Hai” (“Key to form the government lies with LJP”). Subsequently, President rule was declared in Bihar and in the next election in November, NDA bagged 141 seats and formed its first government.

Is Chirag planning to do the same to the JD(U)?

Senior journalist Abdul Qadir says that it is time for Chirag to show his DNA as a true heir of the ‘Mausam Vaigyanik’, a euphemism for Paswan’s penchant for changing sides at the right time. It was given by none other than the iconic Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Qadir says that the Hathras brutality has gifted Chirag some much-needed alibi to chart a separate course. Chirag’s recent tweets show that Nitish Kumar is having the same treatment from him as Lalu Prasad had from his father in 2005.