Chirag, Rudy file nominations
In Saran, Rudy will be pitted against Lalu Prasad’s younger daughter Rohini Acharya, who is making her electoral debut. Chirag, who won from Jamui in 2014 and 2019, has returned to his father’s bastion of Hajipur.
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader and Jamui MP Chirag Paswan and BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy filed their nominations for Hajipur and Saran parliamentary seats, respectively, on Thursday, the penultimate day of filing papers for the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections to be held on May 20.
Hajipur and Saran are important for the NDA among the five parliamentary seats, including Sitamarhi, Madhubani and Muzaffarpur, in the state that are going to vote in the fifth phase.
Saran is under spotlight as RJD supremo’s Lalu Prasad’s younger daughter Rohini Acharya is making her electoral debut from the parliamentary constituency.
Hajipur assumes importance after Paswan entered the fray to cement his position as the true heir to his late father Ram Vilas Paswan’s legacy. The younger Paswan won the turf war against his estranged uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras, elbowing him out in the run-up to parliamentary polls for an NDA ticket from Hajipur, his father’s pocket borough.
The BJP, which had initially thrown its weight behind Paras, the incumbent MP from Hajipur who was also rewarded with the cabinet berth, decided to back Paswan.
The 41-year-old leader, who has shifted base from Jamui, which he represented for two consecutive terms in the Lok Sabha, was greeted by massive crowds in Hajipur where he also held an impressive roadshow.
Despite getting an invite from Paswan, Paras did not join his nephew in the nomination fanfare on Thursday.
“I invited my uncle and wanted him to come for my nomination, but he cited some preoccupation,” Paswan, who was accompanied by his mother Reena Paswan, told News 18 TV channel.
“I am terribly missing my father. This is the first time when I will have to file nomination papers with him not around. He was there to bless me both in 2014 and 2019,” Paswan told reporters.
In a display of strength and solidarity, both Paswan and Rudy were accompanied by Union ministers Nityanand Rai and Rajnath Singh, respectively, as the duo filed their nomination papers to the respective returning officers of the two parliamentary seats. Bihar’s deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary also accompanied Paswan.
Later, speaking at a public rally at Saran, defence minister Rajnath Singh hit out at the Congress, when he said the party was fooling people in the name of religion-based reservation, which the Constitution did not permit.
“I want to ask the parties promising religion-based reservation, why are you fooling people? I want to ask the Congress and RJD that if you have courage then do not do politics by throwing dust in the eyes of the public, do politics by looking the people in their eyes,” the ANI quoted Rajnath Singh as saying in Saran.
Attacking the Rashtriya Janata Dal, he asked people especially the young voters to make a promise that they won’t allow the return of ‘Lalten Yug’ (veiled jibe at RJD’s party symbol) in Bihar.
“People who are accused of corruption are going to the public and requesting for votes. Sometimes they bring the ‘Charwaha Yug’, sometimes ‘Lalten Yug’. Only people of Bihar can bring the change by voting for NDA candidates,” the ANI said quoting the defence minister.
Campaigning for Rudy, Singh said that the former was a trained pilot and would blow all opposition away.
He also attacked Congress over the issue of “inheritance tax”.
Rudy, in his speech, attacked Acharya for claiming herself to be “Chapra ki beti” (daughter of Chapra).
“This is the nomination document of Rashtriya Janata Dal candidate (Rohini Acharya), the one who calls herself Chapra’s daughter. What is her address, has anyone seen it? She lives in Patna and claims that she is a daughter of Chapra... My party workers and I believe that a person who is not a resident of Chapra has no right to seek votes here,” the PTI quoted Rudy as saying.