Just a day left: INDIA bloc in turmoil ahead of Bihar nominations

Chinks in the INDIA bloc’s armour became all too obvious on Sunday in poll-bound Bihar, where disgruntled aspirants from the RJD and Congress, the two largest constituents, openly accused the leadership of putting tickets up for sale.

With less than 24 hours left for the filing of nomination papers for the second and final phase, the multi-party coalition has still been unable to announce key decisions, such as a chief ministerial candidate or the seat-sharing formula among its six alliance partners.

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, however, continued to distribute party symbols at will, which did not sit well with the party’s media cell president Ritu Jaiswal. She announced that she would file her nomination as an Independent from the Parihar seat, against the official candidate Smita Purve.

In an emotional Facebook post, Jaiswal, who contested the seat five years ago and was the RJD candidate from Sheohar in the last Lok Sabha elections, losing both times by narrow margins, alleged that Purve’s father-in-law, Ram Chandra Purve, a former state unit chief of the party, had played a role in her 2020 assembly election defeat.

Prasad’s residence in Patna, a government bungalow allotted to his wife Rabri Devi as a former chief minister, was teeming with aspirants and their supporters. While those who were granted tickets erupted in cheers, others vented their frustration.

Madan Prasad Sah, who lost the Madhuban seat by a narrow margin last time, burst into tears, tore his clothes, and rolled on the street adjacent to 10, Circular Road, the bungalow serving as RJD’s de facto office, when he learned that his constituency ticket had gone to someone else.

Amid sobs, he told journalists who have been camped outside the bungalow almost round the clock—that he had been a staunch supporter of Lalu Prasad since the 1990s and had “sold off my own piece of land” to contest the 2020 elections. Sah also criticised party supremo’s son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav as “arrogant,” alleging that the ticket had gone to a “BJP agent” due to a Rajya Sabha MP, influential with RJD’s “first family,” striking a deal with Amit Shah.

Sah’s theatrics amused Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who remarked that “there is so much outrage. I would suggest Lalu ji not open the gates of his house, lest his angry workers rip off his clothes.”

Another RJD aspirant, Uma Devi, was also seen weeping outside 10, Circular Road. She claimed she had been associated with the party since 2005 and had been assured by Lalu, Rabri, Misa, and Tejashwi that she would get the ticket from Barachatti. She expressed shock that the ticket went to a candidate who appeared to have landed “as if by a parachute.” Unlike Sah, Uma Devi did not allege money had influenced the decision, and both reaffirmed their trust in Lalu Prasad, ruling out contesting as rebel candidates.

The Congress, which has released lists of over 50 candidates, also faced discontent. Sitting MLA from Kasba, Mohd Afaque Alam, denied a fourth consecutive run from his seat, went public with his outrage, and accused another MLA from Katihar district—who had participated in candidate selection of harboring “ill-will” against him ever since he was chosen over the colleague for a ministerial berth.

An audio clip, whose authenticity could not be confirmed, allegedly captures Alam in conversation with state Congress president Rajesh Kumar Ram. In the clip, Ram reportedly blames Krishna Allavaru, the AICC’s Bihar in-charge, acting on the advice of Independent MP Pappu Yadav, whose wife Ranjeet Ranjan is a Congress Rajya Sabha member from Chhattisgarh.

Meanwhile, issues also surfaced in the relatively more organised NDA. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), which had suddenly announced ex-MP Sabir Ali as its candidate from Amour, reversed its decision after realising that Saba Zafar, whom Sabir Ali was supposed to replace, had already filed his nomination and was unlikely to withdraw.

The ruling coalition hopes its campaign gains momentum next week when Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses rallies. According to state BJP president Dilip Jaiswal, Modi will kickstart his campaign on October 24 from Samastipur, followed by another rally in Begusarai.