Rebel RJD leader Ram Kripal Yadav is all set to take on RJD chief lalu Prasad’s daughter Misa Bharti as a BJP candidate from Patliputra constituency. Ram Kripal is set to join the BJP on Wednesday. On Tuesday, he met BJP president Rajnath Singh and party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad at the Delhi Airport and held 30 minutes talks with them.
Ram Kripal, however, refused to confirm his widely anticipated move, that would make Patliputra contest one of the closely-watched event. In addition to Misa Bharti and Ram Kripal, local MP Ranjan Prasad Yadav JD(U) is also known for his proximity with lalu Prasad in his hey days.
“I have met Rajnath today. We had a good meeting. I will comment on the rest of the issues tomorrow,” Ram Kripal Yadav told reporters when asked what will be his strategy and whether he was being given the Patliputra ticket from Bihar by the BJP.
What remains to be seen is whether the BJP agrees to accommodate Yadav in the Patliputra lok Sabha seat of Bihar, a seat yoga guru Ramdev is said to have sought for one of his own aides.
Refusing to confirm if Yadav would contest from Pataliputra, Prasad said the decision will be taken by the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the party. The RJD chief’s wife Rabri Dev said if Ram Kripal opted out of the party, it will not affect the party. Misa said, “It’s not a fight between an uncle and niece, but it’s a fight between ideologies.”
Ram Kripal had resigned from all party posts of the RJD after lalu Prasad ignored his claim over Pataliputra ticket to field his daughter Misa Bharti from there. Ram Kripal has been saying that he has not yet quit the RJD and had only resigned from party positions.
Ram Kripal Yadav is presently the only RJD member in the Rajya Sabha. He has large following in every section of the society and his departure from the RJD could hurt it badly. With a section of the Yadavs already shifting towards the BJP in Bihar, Ram Kripal could give momentum to this caste realignment in Bihar politics.