PATNA: In Bihar’s fast changing political scenario,rebel JD(U)MLAs have joined hands with the BJP to back the independent candidates in two of the three Rajya Sabha seats contested by the party’s official nominees. JD(U)chief Sharad Yadav is the candidate in the remaining seat.
Besides Yadav, diplomat-writer turned politico Pawan Verma and Gulam Rasool Balyawi have filed nominations as JD(U)candidates for the elections to the Upper House.
However, the entry of three independents into the fray--JD(U)leader Sabir Ali, real estate baron Anil Sharma, who had contested the recent Lok Sabha elections as JD(U) candidate from Jehanabad and BJP MLC and its candidate from Kisanganj Parliamentary constituency Dilip Jaiswal has made the tussle interesting.
Interestingly, before filing their nominations all the three independents had called on senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi.
Rebel JD(U) MLA Poonam Devi said that no candidate had been fielded against Yadav and that the three candidates would be contesting against Verma and Balyawi.
Currently, the JD(U)is grappling with growing dissidence in its ranks following the induction of 14 ministers, including three RJD defectors in the Jitan Ram Manjhi Ministry.
Meanwhile, the dissident JD(U) MLAs have indicated that they are in no mood to spare Nitish Kumar. And it only goes to show that one of the groups involved in the power struggle within the party has Yadav’s tacit support.
The BJP, which did not figure in the scheme of things since it was the JD(U) all the way in the state’s RS polls, has now come out aggressively in a bid to fish in troubled waters.
“Some of our party MLAs are playing into the hands of the BJP and the party is trying to resort to horse-trading in the coming elections,” said senior JD(U) leader Manjit Singh.
Political observers believe that the move is being orchestrated to embarrass Nitish, who has been at receiving end after the JD(U) humiliation in the Lok Sabha polls.
It was late on Sunday that the JD(U)announced that it would field candidates for the RS polls.