Tejashwi to lose Raghopur just like Rahul defeated in Amethi, claims Kishor
PATNA/NEW DELHI, Oct 11: Senior BJP leaders including Home Minister Amit Shah and party president J P Nadda held a meeting with party leaders and those of the allies on the ensuing Bihar polls here on Saturday, with the BJP state unit chief Dilip Jaiswal indicating that seat-sharing arrangements with the NDA partners will be announced by Sunday.
This came a day ahead of the expected meeting of the Central Election Committee of the BJP, which includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders, to finalise the names of the party candidates for the Bihar assembly polls scheduled to be held in two phases on November 6 and 11.
Sources said the seat-sharing formula with the Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] and the LJP (Ram Vilas) [LJP(RV)] has almost been finalised while discussions were on with other two allies — Hindustan Awam Morcha (Secular) [HAM(S)] supremo Jitan Ram Lam Manjhi, also a Union minister, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha.
According to NDA sources, the JD(U) is likely to contest around 101 or 102 seats and the BJP on one seat less than the JD(U).
Ahead of the meeting, BJP Bihar unit president Dilip Jaiswal said, “All is well in the NDA and the seat share of the allies will be announced today or by tomorrow at 11 am.” “Everything has been decided in the NDA. The NDA is moving forward with firm unity. All is well,” he told reporters, when asked about the NDA’s seat-sharing formula. ”I think the central leadership will make an announcement this evening or by 11 am tomorrow,” he added.
Whether the announcement will be made in Patna or in Delhi, Jaiswal said the NDA leadership will decide on this.
BJP’s in-charge for political affairs in Bihar Vinod Tawde and Bihar election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan, also a Union minister, were present at the meeting.
TEJASHWI WILL LOSE:KISHOR
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Saturday claimed that RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav would lose his Raghopur assembly seat in the upcoming Bihar assembly polls, just like Congress’ Rahul Gandhi had suffered a humiliating defeat in Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh six years ago.
Kishor, spoke to journalists in Patna before kickstarting his party’s campaign from Raghopur, about 50 km away, but kept cards close to the chest on the possibility of entering the fray himself.
“I am going to Raghopur to get feedback from the people of the constituency, which wants an end to the supremacy of one family. Before Tejashwi Yadav, a second-term MLA, his father Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi had represented that seat. Yet, it is crying for basic amenities,” alleged Kishor.
He said the Jan Suraaj Party’s central election committee meeting is scheduled for Sunday, and the feedback he would receive from Raghopur will also be up for discussion.
“Based on that, the most suitable candidate will be decided. I cannot say whether it is going to be me. The decision has to be taken by the party,” Kishor said.
BJP MLA RESIGNS
Bihar BJP MLA Mishri Lal Yadav on Saturday announced his resignation from the party, alleging that Dalits and other backward communities were not getting their due in the organisation.
Yadav, who represents Alinagar constituency in Darbhanga district, told a press conference that he will be submitting his resignation to the party’s state unit president Dilip Jaiswal.
The party did not immediately come up with a response but sources said Yadav has been miffed over speculations that he may not be considered for a ticket this time and the BJP may field singer Maithili Thakur from Alinagar.
“I won Alinagar for the NDA for the first time. In the past, many other candidates, with deep pockets and muscle power, had failed to do so,” said Yadav, who had contested the 2020 polls on a ticket of Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP).
AIMIM TO CONTEST 100 SEATS
The AIMIM, which has been spurned by the INDIA bloc in Bihar, on Saturday said it was planning to contest around 100 seats in the upcoming state assembly polls, five times the number it had fought in the last elections.
The party, headed by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, claimed that it was aiming to build a “third alternative” in Bihar, where politics has, for years, been all about the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-RJD combine.
Talking to PTI-Bhasha, the AIMIM’s state president Akhtarul Iman said, “Our plan is to contest 100 seats. Both the NDA and the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ (the name by which the INDIA bloc is known in Bihar) will be forced to realise our presence.” He also claimed that the ‘Mahagathbandhan’, which had in 2020 accused the AIMIM of splitting secular votes, can no longer do so. (PTI)
