PATNA: The Rashtriya Janata Dal on Thursday sacked its senior Bihar leader Gulab Yadav who has fielded his wife as a rebel candidate in the upcoming state legislative council elections.
A communication issued by the party's national general secretary Bhola Yadav said Yadav was being expelled for six years in the light of recommendations of state president Jagadanand Singh and principal national general secretary Abdul Bari Siddiqui.
Gulab Yadav had announced a couple of weeks ago that his wife Ambika will be contesting from Madhubani as an independent candidate, accusing RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav of betrayal.
Yadav had claimed that the party gave ticket to a weak candidate Meraj Alam, as part of a deal with the NDA, after having assured him that he will be considered for Madhubani, which is among the 24 seats going to polls.
The seat was previously held by BJP's Santosh Kumar, whose term had expired in July last year.
Elections to the 24 seats, of local authorities constituencies, had been deferred because of delay in Panchayat elections which was caused by the COVID upsurge.
As per the schedule announced by the Election Commission, filing of nominations will begin from March 9 and voting will take place on April 4, followed by counting of votes three days later.
Gulab Yadav had wrested Jhajharpur assembly seat for the RJD in 2015, from BJP's Nitish Mishra, to whom he lost it again five years later.
He also contested, unsuccessfully, as the party candidate from Jhanjharpur in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.