RJD to contest both seats in Bihar bypolls, unhappy Congress says move humiliating

Congress leader Ashok Kumar, who was a strong claimant for the Kusehswarsthan seat that he also represented in the past, said the party was watching the developments and if required would contest both the seats going to bypolls.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal will field its candidates from both Kusehswarsthan and Tarapur for the upcoming polls in the state. Following the nod for the names from RJD chief Lalu Prasad, party’s state unit chief Jagtanand Singh announced the names of Arun Shah and Ganesh Bharati from Tarapur and Kusehswarsthan respectively.

Following approval for the names from RJD chief Lalu Prasad, party’s state unit chief Jagtanand Singh announced the names of Arun Shah and Ganesh Bharati from Tarapur and Kusehswarsthan respectively for the upcoming bypolls. (ANI PHOTO.)

The JD-U has already announced candidates for both the seats and may be part of a direct contest with the RJD. Ganesh Bharati, who was earlier in the JD-U and also served as a member of the Bihar Legislative Council, switched over to the RJD last year ahead of the Bihar assembly polls. Bharti is from the extremely backward class (Nonia community).

However, fielding Bharti from Kusehswarsthan could be difficult for the Congress to digest, as former Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee president Ashok Kumar, who lost narrowly last time to JD-U candidate late Shashibhushan Hazari, is eyeing the seat. This time, the late leader’s son Aman Bhushan is contesting.

In Tarapur also, RJD has denied a ticket to former Union minister Jai Prakash Yadav’s daughter Divya Prakash, who was runners up to late ML Choudhary in 2020 and gone in for Arun Shah, who is from the Vaishya community. He will be pitted against JD-U’s Kushwaha candidate Rajiv Kumar Singh. JD-U reportedly wanted to give a ticket to late ML Choudhary’s son, but he refused to contest.

“The names have been finalised after detailed consultations with winnability as the only factor. The party has gone for winnability. It is a fight to form the government in Bihar, as the mandate was for the RJD-led alliance and all the constituents of the alliance know its importance,” said a senior RJD leader.

Congress leader Ashok Kumar, who was a strong claimant for the Kusehswarsthan seat that he also represented in the past, said the party was watching the developments and if required would contest both the seats going to bypolls. “I have been the claimant, as I have nurtured the seat. This is like humiliating the Congress. Our party Vice President Rahul Gandhi’s decision will be final in this regard and we are preparing for both seats,” he added.