JD(U) president Sharad Yadav on Thursday was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha seat vacated by lJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan. On the three seats vacated in Bihar, rebel JD(U) MlAs had not fielded any Independent candidate against the party president. Election for the two remaining seats is now scheduled for June 19.
As expected, on the last date of withdrawal of names, an Independent candidate from the BJP, Dilip Jaiswal withdrew his nomination to make the contest straight on two seats between the pro- and anti-Nitish camps. Against the two official candidates of the party — Pawan Verma and Ghulam Rasool Balyawi — the rebel group has put up Shabir Ali and prominent businessman Anil Sharma.
Soon after declaration of his nomination for the RS seat, Yadav said it was only a one-third victory for the party. “When we’ll register our win on the remaining two seats, then it will be a party’s win … mine has been a unanimous victory,” said the JD(U) chief.
The party president also said he was trying his best to win over the rebel party MlAs so that party’s official candidates could sail through easily. “I am in touch with those party MlAs who have some grievances and am trying to assuage their feeling,” said Yadav.
Meanwhile, State JD(U) president Basistha Narayan Singh has expressed hope that the RJD would support his party candidates in the RS bypoll. “It will be a welcome move by the RJD if they lend their support to JD(U) candidates,” said Singh.
However, the RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui refused to give any such apparent credence to the JD(U) State president. “Earlier, when our party had given issue-based support to the JD(U), they thought and propagated it as our compulsion and even made fun of it … let’s see what our party leader decides regarding our role in the RS bypoll,” said Siddiqui.
However, State Congress leaders have promised support to the JD(U) candidates. “Our party runs on principle and it is under our political principle we’ll support the JD(U) candidates in the Rajya Sabha election,” said former State Congress president Sadanand Singh.
Meanwhile, the State BJP is yet to unfold its political strategy over the upcoming RS bypoll. Earlier, BJP leader Shushil Kumar Modi had said that the party would reveal its strategy after the withdrawal date.
However, the party sources said that BJP might support the two Independent candidates in the poll to give another jolt to Nitish Kumar and his party.
Earlier, the rebel camp of the JD(U) had alleged that some of the party leaders were threatening and offering them money for supporting the official JD(U) candidates. One of the Independent candidates Shabir Ali even had lodged a police complaint against three JD(U) MlAs lesi Singh, Ranju Geeta and Shrawan Kumar for “intimidation and horse-trading”.