PATNA: The Bihar Mahagathbandhan announced the names of candidates for 36 of the 40 Assembly constituencies on Friday. Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav who announced the names accepted the delay in arriving at a consensus, but said, “We have arrived, safely”.
He said candidates for Sheohar (RJD) and Madhubani (Vikasheel Insaan Party), besides Congress nominees for Patna Sahib and Valmikinagar would be announced later.
Prominent names included Misa Bharti, Lalu Prasad’s eldest daughter, a Rajya Sabha MP-who has been fielded from Patliputra against BJP’s Ramkripal Yadav and former Union rural development minister, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh from Vaishali. Singh had lost to a don, Rama Singh of the LJP.
Sharad Yadav, former national president of the JD(U) has been fielded by RJD at Madhepura — his old seat, while Chandrika Rai, father-in-law of Lalu Prasad’s elder son Tej Pratap, has been fielded against BJP candidate Rajiv Prasad Rudy in Saran. This seat is considered Lalu’s pocket borough.
As expected, the Patna Sahib seat went to Congress, which is expected later to announce cinestar and sitting BJP MP, Shatrughan Sinha, who joined the party on March 26, as the candidate.
The Siwan seat went to incarcerated don and former MP, Mohammad Shahabuddin’s wife, Heena Shahab.
The exercise left ex-cricketer and BJP sitting MP from Darbhanga Kirti Azad adrift, though he is expected to shift to Valmikinagar constituency.
Kanhaiya violates poll code
Former JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar, contesting the polls in Bihar as a CPI candidate, was on Friday booked for violation of Model Code of Conduct.
The case was lodged at Mansur Chak police station of the district under relevant sections of the Representation of People Act, SHO Arvind Kumar said.
He said as per the FIR, based on the complaint of Mansur Chak Block Development Officer-cum-flying squad magistrate Shatrughan Rajak, Kanhaiya had addressed a meet on Thursday without obtaining prior permission