The encouraging bypoll result in Bihar on 10 seats provided enough oxygen to resuscitate the newly forged alliance between lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar in State’s political firmament, but a day later on Tuesday, an erupted tremor apparently threatened the longevity of the alliance. The RJD candidate who lost the poll narrowly has blamed a JD(U) leader for his defeat.
RJD candidate from Banka Assembly constituency Iqbal Hussain Ansari who was defeated by a thin margin at the hands of BJP candidate Ram Narayan Mandal by just 711 votes has blamed JD(U) leader and Tourism Minister in the Manjhi Cabinet Javed Iqbal Ansari for his defeat.
“I lost the poll because Javed Iqbal Ansari worked against me,” charged the RJD candidate. Interestingly, Javed Iqbal Ansari was earlier an RJD MlA from Banka constituency in 2010, but later joined the JD(U) which necessitated the bypoll.
But, the JD(U) leader while strongly refuting the charge against him said that since the RJD candidate has been his traditional rival in the constituency, he has been leveling such “baseless charge” against me. He further took a dig at the RJD candidate saying “was it possible for him to get 47,940 votes without the help of alliance partnersIJ”
The JD(U) leader and the Minister also said that the alliance lost the Banka seat with narrow margin because of the wrong choice of the candidate. “Had there been any other person, the alliance could have won Banka seat with comfortable margin. If the RJD had been contacted him before selection of the candidate we would not have lost the poll,” said Javed Iqbal Ansari.
But, Ansari’s suggestion that the RJD should have contacted him before selection of the candidate from Banka constituency soon triggered reaction from another senior RJD leader Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha.
“If he says that we should have contacted him before selecting our candidate, then the JD(U) too should have fielded candidates with our consent where it has lost the poll,” said the RJD leader. He further said that it was not a healthy political approach to question who was fielded from a constituency by an alliance partner.
In election candidates fielded by parties either win or lose the poll…it happens every time so leaders should refrain themselves from making baseless allegations against each other”, said Kushwaha.
Meanwhile, similar voice of dissent has been heard from state BJP too. Senior state BJP leader and former state party chief Dr C P Thakur blamed the wrong choice of candidates fro party’s dismal performance in the by-poll.
“Opinion of senior party leaders like me were not taken in selection of the candidates…we lost at many seats because wrong choice of candidates”, charged Dr C P Thakur. Other state BJP leaders too expressed similar opinion while blaming two-three leaders who have hijacked the Bihar unit of the party for party’s such dismal performance in the by-poll.
When asked who are these two-three party leaders, many of them said “you all know them well..they have been on the forefront in selection of the candidates and in poll campaign as well”. “They are the party’s face today..better to say chief ministerial candidates but they must be alarmed with the by-poll result”, warned a state BJP leader. The NDA alliance party Rashtriya lok Samata Party [RlSP] leader and MP from Jehanabad Arun Kumar said that the “feel good factor”, costs the NDA performance in the by-poll.
Earlier, the senior state BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi too had said that the party would introspect on its “below expectation result” in the by-poll and gear up for the final match in 2015 with all its force and vigour.