PATNA, Sept. 26 -- In a clear departure from the defensive posture adopted by most BJP-led NDA constituents, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief and Union minister Chirag Paswan on Friday called on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar to firmly and publicly clarify the Election Commission's position amid questions over the electoral process. Speaking to reporters in Patna and Delhi, Paswan stressed that the poll panel was an independent constitutional body and the responsibility to allay public doubts rested primarily with the CEC. "If questions are being raised . the responsibility lies with the CEC to present his stance clearly. It is problematic if people begin to doubt the electoral process itself. The EC needs to present its stance, not to Rahul Gandhi, but to the public," he said. Paswan added that while the Opposition's job was to do politics, the Commission must maintain the people's trust by putting forth its points firmly so that no doubts linger in the public mind. The remarks come against the backdrop of a media house's investigative report that the CEC chose to differ with two ECs on multiple occasions to decisions linked to the SIR of electoral rolls. While the BJP and JD(U) have avoided amplifying the controversy or have defended institutional processes, Paswan's insistence on clarification sets his party apart in the alliance. This is not the first time the LJP(RV) leader has charted an independent course. In Bihar, where his party is an ally of the government led by Samrat Choudhary, Paswan has repeatedly raised the temperature on law-and-order that embarrass the dispensation. Only a day ago, at the party's GenZ conclave-'Youth Bole Toh', he said girls in Bihar were feeling unsafe. The comment, coming on the heels of Jamui and Samastipur incidents, carried the potential to put the state administration on the defensive. Earlier too, Paswan had cornered the Nitish Kumar-led establishment on deteriorating law and order, publicly expressing regret at having to support a government that appeared unable to check crime. Such interventions, delivered while his party continued to share power at the Centre and in the state, have underscored a pattern, which is that the LJP(RV) remains inside the NDA tent but does not always speak in lockstep with its larger partners. On reservation, Paswan has likewise taken positions that create clear blue water with sections of the alliance. He has repeatedly described caste-based quotas as a non-negotiable constitutional right. "Paswan's stance reinforced his claim as a pan-Dalit voice while exposing fault lines with other NDA constituents pushing for internal restructuring of quotas," said social analyst Rama Shankar Arya. Another retired professor Nawal Kishore Chaudhary said, "Beneath these public interventions lies a longer political subtext. Party leaders have openly projected Paswan as a future chief ministerial face for Bihar."...