Chirag Paswan, who had proclaimed himself to be Narendra Modi’s “Hanuman”, faces eviction from a Lutyens’ bungalow that had become synonymous with his late father, veteran Dalit leader Ram Vilas Paswan.

Chirag, struggling to survive a coup by his uncle Pashupati Paras, who walked away with five of the six party MPs and is now trying to take over the Lok Janshakti Party formed by Ram Vilas, has been asked to hurry up and vacate the bungalow on 12 Janpath.

The young Paswan, who had declared himself Prime Minister Modi’s “Hanuman” and gone solo in the Bihar elections late last year to defeat chief minister Nitish Kumar, is now requesting that he be given some more time.

Chirag has sought the time to be able to observe the first death anniversary of his father early next month at the address that shaped the Dalit leader’s politics for over three decades. But this concession too appears to be difficult to get from the Modi government.

A bust of Ram Vilas has now come up in the front lawns of the bungalow with party leaders indicating it was aimed to thwart an eviction amid silence from Chirag.

“We don’t intend to occupy the bungalow permanently but the government has to give us some more months,” one party leader close to Chirag said.

“12 Janpath has been associated with Ram Vilas Paswan’s legacy and the government can’t just throw us out,” the leader added.

The installation of Paswan’s bust has put the government in a tricky situation. “Chirag could demand that 12 Janpath be turned into a memorial for Ram Vilas Paswan,” a BJP leader said.

The Dalit issue being politically sensitive, the bust is worrying the BJP, particularly before the Uttar Pradesh polls.

The BJP had appeared to be fully behind Chirag’s solo drive in Bihar to undercut its ally Nitish.

After the Bihar poll results that saw the JDU-BJP return to power, the party changed track. The BJP has now aligned with Paras, who has been made a minister in the Modi government.

“Hanuman did everything possible for his Ram. I did everything possible for my PM.… I was expecting my PM to stand by me,” Chirag had said, upset that the BJP didn’t back him against his uncle. On the eviction issue, he is silent.

12 Janpath shares its boundary wall with 10 Janpath, the official residence of Sonia Gandhi, and has been allotted to railway and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Ram Vilas had stayed at 12 Janpath since 1989. In early 2004, Sonia had walked up to his house and sought his support in building the UPA. Ram Vilas had quit the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government over the 2002 Gujarat riots.

In 2009, he dumped the Congress and lost badly. Ahead of 2014, Paswan aligned with the BJP on the insistence of his son, according to insiders.