With the Election Commission kick starting its preparations for the five Rajya Sabha seats which will be vacant in April, the RJD appears all set to lose its seat of party chief lalu Prasad Yadav’s most trusted Man Friday and party colleague Prem Chand Gupta. The term of the five RS MPs — three from the ruling party JD-U and one each from BJP and RJD — would come to an end on April 9.
The RS MPs whose term is going to expire are Shivanand Tiwari, NK Singh and Sabir Ali from JD-U, Dr CP Thakur from BJP and Prem Chand Gupta from RJD. Sabir Ali, however, was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an lJP candidate in 2008, but later he resigned from the party and was re-elected as a JD-U nominee in 2011. The Election Commission, said the State legislative Assembly sources, has asked the Assembly Secretariat to provide names of the returning officers for conducting the polls. The entire election process, including filing and withdrawal of nominations, are to be completed by end of March.
In the 243 Assembly strength, approximately 40.5 votes are required for the election of an MP this time. The ruling party JD-U has 118 MlAs along with support of some Independents and four Congress MlAs in the House. With the comfortable required number in the party’s kitty, the JD-U is all set to retain its three seats this time.
However, according to party sources, with the lok Sabha polls approaching fast and the political atmosphere simmering faster, JD-U most likely would repeat its candidates but there is still a big question hanging on the re-nomination of Shivanand Tiwari, whose relation with party leader and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, of late, has gone sour. Recently, Tiwari, at the party’s two-day meet in Rajgir, has gone hammer and tongs on Nitish Kumar for his style of functioning.