PATNA, Oct. 22 -- The upcoming two-phase Bihar assembly elections on November 6 and 11 will serve as a litmus test for at least six leaders - including two from the same political family - as they battle to assert relevance and leadership in a shifting political landscape. For former Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, it is a make-or-break contest. Having been edged out of the NDA, Paras is fighting to retain his political identity through his Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP), which will contest on the 'sewing machine' symbol. His estranged nephew, Union food processing industries minister Chirag Paswan, buoyed by his party's perfect score in the last Lok Sabha elections, hopes to replicate that success in the assembly polls. Leading the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) [LJP(R)] on the 'helicopter' symbol, Chirag seeks to consolidate his claim as the rightful political heir to his late father Ram Vilas Paswan's Dalit legacy. Both Paras and Chirag are determined to inherit the mantle once held by the LJP founder. While Chirag, the son, believes the legacy is naturally his, Paras, the elder brother, presents himself as a seasoned grassroots leader equally entitled to it. This will be the first time both contest separately on their own party symbols. The split in the original Lok Janshakti Party after Ram Vilas Paswan's death in 2020 fractured the Dalit vote base, particularly among the Paswan community in central Bihar. The Election Commission froze the party's traditional 'bungalow' symbol and recognised both factions as separate entities in October 2021 - deepening the family's political rivalry. Chirag currently holds the advantage. Riding on his 100% strike rate in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls - where LJP(R) won all five seats it contested as part of the NDA - he has emerged as a key NDA ally. His party secured 29 assembly seats in the coalition's seat-sharing deal despite initial BJP reservations, and with five MPs in Parliament, Chirag's claim to his father's political space has only strengthened. The RLJP, however, has struggled to retain its identity after moving out of NDA ahead of the 2024 general elections. The RLJP suffered a jolt when it could not seal a deal with the Mahagathbandhan, particularly the RJD, ahead of the Bihar polls. Undeterred, the 73-year-old Paras has vowed to fight back. After walking out of the NDA in April, he has announced plans to field candidates against Chirag's nominees - signalling a direct challenge for control over Bihar's Dalit political space. He is also keen to launch his son from the Alauli assembly constituency in Khagaria district. For 42-year-old Chirag, youth and organisational strength are clear assets, but the assembly polls pose a new test. Unlike the Lok Sabha polls dominated by prime minister Narendra Modi's appeal, these elections will measure Chirag's own grassroots connect and leadership mettle. The uncle-nephew showdown - once united under Ram Vilas Paswan's towering influence - now epitomises the battle for Bihar's Dalit leadership. The results will determine not just their individual futures but who truly inherits the Paswan legacy. Beyond the Paswan family, four other leaders are seeking to carve out political identities of their own. Foremost among them is Prashant Kishor, whose Jan Suraaj Party - though not fielding him personally - has shaken Bihar's traditionally bipolar politics. His campaign aims to emulate the disruptive rise of the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi in 2013, positioning Jan Suraaj as this election's dark horse. For Kishor, an election strategist turned politician, the 2025 polls will test his poll prowess in mainstream electoral politics as a founder of a new outfit, which is poised to play spoilsport for both the ruling NDA and the Opposition INDIA bloc by fielding candidates on all the 243 Assembly seats. "Stakes are high for Prashant Kishor as it would define whether the Jan Suraaj founder would gain his position as a viable alternative force to challenge the NDA and the Opposition bloc or would be relegated as a fringe party. The experiment of Jan Suraaj to give a viable alternative with the objective of clean leaders is nothing new in electoral politics as it has happened in Andhra Pradesh and then in Delhi with the emergence of the Aam Aadmi Party. I feel Kishor has his agenda and I cannot say it is totally neutral given his transition from election strategist to electoral politics," said Srikant, a former IG rank officer and Patna-based political observer. Tej Pratap Yadav, elder son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, has floated the Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD) and offered an alliance to the RJD - a move seen as both a show of independence and an assertion of his own political identity. Much is at stake in this election for the elder Yadav scion, the sitting Hassanpur MLA trying his luck from the Mahua assembly seat, which is considered a traditional RJD base. In case Yadav loses, it may be a setback to the 36 year old former minister, who has courted many controversies in the past and was expelled from the RJD a few months back. Upendra Kumar Kushwaha, a former Union minister, returns to the fray on the rechristened Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) symbol, now aligned with the NDA. After an unsuccessful 2020 outing as the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), Kushwaha hopes to regain lost ground under the rebranded banner. Also entering the field is IP Gupta, an engineer-turned-politician who founded the Indian Inclusive Party (IIP) earlier this year with a massive rally at Patna's Gandhi Maidan. Representing the Tanti-Tatwa and Pan communities, the IIP has joined the Mahagathbandhan and been allotted the Saharsa seat by the RJD, marking its electoral debut. The verdict on these leaders' ambitions - from legacy claimants to emerging regional challengers - will be delivered on November 14, when the results of the Bihar assembly elections are announced....