In a significant political development former Rajya Sabha member and JD(U) candidate in the forthcoming lok Sabha polls Shabir Ali was expelled from the party for life on Monday for praising BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. Ali was face of the JD(U) during Delhi Assembly polls recently in which party had failed miserably to perform.
Recently, Shabir Ali, along with NK Singh and Shivanand Tiwari, was denied renomination to the Rajya Sabha by party leader Nitish Kumar. later, Singh joined the BJP and Tiwari had declared to campaign for AAP candidates in three constituencies.
In a compensatory move, the JD(U) later fielded Shabir Ali from Sheohar lok Sabha constituency from where he was reportedly reluctant to contest. However, party sources told The Pioneer that when Ali went to Sheohar for electioneering, he did not get support from local JD(U) leaders.
Ali, party sources said, had even expressed his displeasure over local party leaders’ non-cooperation to Nitish Kumar. He alleged that a senior party leader close to the Chief Minister was behind sabotaging his poll prospect. Reports said that Ali was referring to JD(U) Rajya Sabha member RCP Singh for spoiling his Sheohar poll prospect.
Ali, who was earlier in lok Janshakti Party, had joined the JD(U) to retain his Rajya Sabha membership and since then has been face of the party on TV news channels. He had also played a big role in distribution of party tickets in Delhi Assembly poll and organising rallies for JD(U).
However, Shabir Ali was also in touch with some senior BJP leaders for sometime exploring his prospect there, party sources said, adding when he got some positive indication, he on Monday praised BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for his policies and political vision.
Door se to accha lagta hai, najdik se abhi dekha nahi…jiska bhi policy accha hoga wohi desh ko chalyega, he said apparently referring to Narendra Modi. He also came down heavily on JD(U) leadership saying that that big leaders were surrounded only with sycophants, who would ultimately lead the party to ruins.
The JD(U) immediately reacted over Ali’s comments and expelled him from the party for life. “He has been expelled from the party not only for six years but for lifetime,” said JD(U) leader KC Tyagi. The party president who is contesting poll from Madhepura too confirmed Ali’s expulsion from the party for life. Though, he refused to elaborate further on the issue but quipped that Ali was a kharab admi (bad person). He also added that the party candidate for Sheohar lok Sabha constituency would be announced soon.
Meanwhile, the State BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav has said that what Ali’s comment was the reality of Indian politics today.