PATNA: A day after BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain was elected unopposed to the Bihar Legislative council, JD-U also managed to get a Muslim face in the party.
Chainpur MLA Jama Khan joined JD-U as an Independent legislator pledging full support to his government.
Political analysts say that MLA Khan joining the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) is a well calculated move, almost parallel to BJP getting Shahnawaz Hussain.
"But Shahnawaz Hussain's political stature is far better than that of Khan's but both are influential to represent the minority community," said a BJP leader who chose not to be named.
The JD-U with no Muslim candidate elected in the 2020 assembly election, was desperately trying to get a Muslim face in the party and its search ended with Khan included in the team.
Sources also said that Khan may be included in the bihar cabinet during expansion, which is expected to be held after January 26, especially if the BJP includes Shahnawaz Hussain in the cabinet.
Khan had earlier met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and then joined the party in presence of JD-U leaders and ministers including Ashok Chaudhary.
In the assembly elections, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) opened an account in the border district of Kaimur in Uttar Pradesh. JD-U was trying to bring the BSP MLA soon after the result were announced.
In fact, the JD-U fielded 11 Muslim candidates in the 2020 assembly elections but none of them were elected causing a great political inconvenience to ensure minority representation in the cabinet formation.
Sources from JD-U hoped that Khan may get the Ministry of Minority Welfare and others because of his towering political influence in the Chainpur assembly areas.