Ram Vilas left the UPA mostly because of Rahul Gandhi's refusal to meet prior to the 2014 elections, according to Chirag Paswan.
Recalling their frequent meetings with Sonia Gandhi to talk about their party's future within the UPA alliance, Chirag Paswan and his father did so. Ram Vilas Paswan should meet Sonia Gandhi's son, she recommended. According to Chirag Paswan, who was also eager to quit the UPA and join the NDA at the time, the senior Paswan asked for an appointment and waited for more than three months, but Rahul Gandhi did not give up.
New Delhi: Ram Vilas Paswan left the Congress-led UPA and allied with the BJP shortly before the 2014 elections, according to Union minister and head of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Chirag Paswan. Paswan cites Rahul Gandhi's rejection to meet his father after months of attempts as a major factor.
In an interview with PTI editors at the agency's headquarters, Chirag Paswan was asked about his thoughts on Rahul Gandhi. He said that the Congressman has recently started to take his responsibilities "a bit more seriously" and criticized the opposition leader for his recent address in Parliament, calling it unworthy of one.
Then, Chirag Paswan recalled that he and his father had frequently met with Sonia Gandhi to talk about their party's future within the UPA coalition. Ram Vilas Paswan should meet Sonia Gandhi's son, she recommended. According to Chirag Paswan, who was also eager to quit the UPA and join the NDA at the time, the senior Paswan asked for an appointment and waited for more than three months, but Rahul Gandhi did not give up.
But according to his son, Ram Vilas Paswan was still eager to stay in the UPA and wanted to talk to Rahul Gandhi about it.
"But for me, it was beneficial. It would have been impossible for me to persuade my father to join the BJP-led NDA if the meeting had not taken place," he added, adding that because of his respect and adoration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he preferred a partnership with the saffron party.
"We were in the UPA till 2013, and I distinctly recall that my father was hesitant to leave the coalition. It was really tough for me to persuade him to change the alliance since he wanted to stay in it."
One of the main stories of the 2014 election season was the decision of senior Paswan, a well-known grassroots Dalit leader who died in 2020, to defect from the UPA and join the BJP. This move gave the BJP a boost and allowed it to grow its alliance in an election where it rode the wave of Modi to win its first majority in the Lok Sabha.
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