Bihar Assembly Elections 2020: Ailing Ram Vilas Paswan Backs Son Chirag Paswan to Take Alliance Call for Upcoming Polls, Says His Decision Would Be Final

New Delhi, September 11: Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Friday announced that he has been hospitalised following ill health and his son Chirag Paswan has taken entire charge of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) in Bihar. The Union Minister further added that any decision taken by his son on the alliance in Bihar will be a final one. In a series of tweets, Paswan stated that his health has deteriorated since a long time but decided not to get admitted to the hospital as he had to fulfil his responsibilities as the Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

Taking to Twitter, Paswan wrote in Hindi saying that he got admitted at a hospital after Chirag insisted that he gets timely treatment. The Minister did not reveal what the illness he was suffering from. He had undergone heart related procedures earlier. Several media reports claimed that he is suffering from multiple health issues, including his existing heart conditions.  The Hindi tweet roughly translates to this in English: “ I didn't go to the hospital as i had responsibilities to fulfil being the food minister. There was no laxity in the work. I continuously served the country as food minister and made every effort to ensure food reaches everywhere on time,” he wrote. Bihar Assembly Elections 2020: Seat-Sharing in NDA Expected to be Finalised by September 15.

Here are the tweets by Ram Vilas Paswan:

कोरोना संकट के समय खाद्य मंत्री के रूप में निरंतर अपनी सेवा देश को दी और हर सम्भव प्रयास किया कि सभी जगह खाद्य सामग्री समय पर पहुंच सके। इसी दौरान तबियत ख़राब होने लगी लेकिन काम में कोई ढिलाई ना हो इस वजह से अस्पताल नहीं गया। 1/3

— Ram Vilas Paswan (@irvpaswan) September 11, 2020

मेरी ख़राब तबियत का एहसास जब चिराग को हुआ तो उसके कहने पर मैं अस्पताल गया और अपना इलाज करवाने लगा। मुझे ख़ुशी है कि इस समय मेरा बेटा चिराग मेरे साथ है और मेरी हर सम्भव सेवा कर रहा है। मेरा ख़याल रखने के साथ साथ पार्टी के प्रति भी अपनी ज़िम्मेदारियों को बखूबी निभा रहा है 2/3

— Ram Vilas Paswan (@irvpaswan) September 11, 2020

मुझे विश्वास है कि अपनी युवा सोच से चिराग पार्टी व बिहार को नयी ऊँचाईयों तक ले जाएगा।चिराग के हर फ़ैसले के साथ मैं मज़बूती से खड़ा हूं। मुझे आशा है कि मैं पूर्ण स्वस्थ होकर जल्द ही अपनों के बीच आऊँगा। 3/3

— Ram Vilas Paswan (@irvpaswan) September 11, 2020

In another tweet, Paswan stated that he is happy to see his son Chirag is with me during hard times and is doing all possible service by helping him. "Along with taking care of me, he us also fulfilling his responsibilities towards the party,” he wrote on Twitter. Paswan expressed confidence that his youthful thinking, Chirag will take the party and Bihar to new heights.

In the Lok Sabha elections, the LJP had contested six seats in the state and had won all. The JD(U) had fought 17 and had won all but one. In the 243-strong assembly, the LJP has only two MLAs. The LJP and the JD(U) have been sniping at each other for months.

Amid the worsening ties between the two members of the ruling NDA, the Lok Janshakti Party held a crucial meeting of its Bihar leaders in the last week to decide whether to fight against the JD(U) in the upcoming state assembly polls. In February 2005, the LJP had fought against the RJD in Bihar assembly polls, even though both regional parties were part of the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 11, 2020 12:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).