With the lok Sabha elections getting closer by day, political mathematics and manipulation are underway for many looking for fresh constituencies and platforms to sail through. Some of them are ready for crossovers while others would like to wait and watch for the opportune time to come.
The ruling Janata Dal (United) leader and Minister for land Reforms and Revenue Ramai Ram on Wednesday declared that he would contest the forthcoming lok Sabha poll from Hajipur reserved constituency. Ram, a former RJD leader had switched loyalty to JD(U) and won last Assembly election from Bochaha reserved constituency in Muzaffarpur.
“Yes, I’ll contest the upcoming Parliamentary poll from Hajipur lok Sabha constituency and I’ve already informed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar about this,” Ram told mediapersons. When asked had he got Kumar’s green signal for this, he said, “I’ve informed him and he will take the decision. But I’ll contest from Hajipur this time and this is final.”
For a long time, Hajipur reserved seat has been stronghold for lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan from where he even had registered world record of his winning margin. But in the last lok Sabha poll in 2009 he was defeated by octogenarian JD(U) leader Ram Sunder Das.
If sources in the lJP are to be believed, this time Chirag Paswan, son of Ram Vilas Paswan, might be the party’s nominee from Hajipur seat. He recently has been nominated as the vice president of the lJP. “Why notIJ He is young and hard working and even traveling in the constituency a lot to meet voters and local party leaders,” said a lJP leader.
Another JD(U) leader and party MP from Jhanjharpur, Mangani lal Mandal is all set to quit party and join lalu Prasad-led RJD to contest the forthcoming lok Sabha poll from “any of the seat in Mithilanchal”. Mandal even had a meeting with RJD supremo lalu Prasad in Ranchi jail on Sunday and party insiders told The Pioneer that he might be joining the RJD in a day or two.
Mandal too comes from extremely backward class (EBC) which is the core vote-bank of Nitish Kumar and his desertion would make impact on Kumar’s vote-bank. Coming from a socialist crop of leaders, Mandal has been member of Bihar legislative Assembly from 1985 to 2004 and was Minister in lalu-Rabri regime for a long time. later he was sent to Rajya Sabha in 2004 and won lok Sabha poll in 2009.
Meanwhile, RJD leader and party MP from Vaishali Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, for the first time, admitted that following party chief lalu Prasad’s incarceration the party has come into trouble.
“Party sankat ke daur mein hai…party ke neta ke jail chale jaane se party par sankat to hai hi…lekin iske mukabla ke liye party ka ek ek karyakarta taiyar hai”, said Raghuvansh Prasad Singh at Muzaffarpur on Wednesday. The RJD leader, significantly, was the only senior leader who had skipped party’s emergency meeting held recently at Rabri Devi’s residence.
The buzz in the RJD circle is that Raghuvansh Prasad Singh is not happy with the party’s decision to promote Rabri Devi as party leader in absence of lalu Prasad. “lalu Prasad is still our leader and he is behind bars temporarily. He will come out of jail and lead us to the poll,” said Raghuvansh Prasad Singh each time when asked to make comment on Rabri Devi’s elevation to lead the party once again.