FORMER BIHAR CONGRESS CHIEF RAMJATAN SINHA JOINS JD(U)

PATNA: In a boost for the Janata Dal (United) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, former state Congress president Ramjatan Sinha joined the ruling party in Bihar along with his supporters.

Sinha who represented Makhdumpur assembly seat thrice but lost from Patna (central) constituency in 2005, had quit Congress in 2005 after the party removed him from the post of party president. Sinha was removed as PCC chief following the party’s dismal performance in the February 2005 assembly elections.

Welcoming Sinha to the party, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said that Sinha’s role in the Congress has been extraordinary. “He has a wide political experience and the JD (U) will benefit from his work style,” Kumar said.

Acknowledging Kumar’s secular credentials Sinha said, “I have not come here on any pre-condition but if the party wishes he was willing to contest polls.”

Earlier, at the party function in Bapu Sabhagar auditorium, Sinha lauded Kumar as a leader who thinks of Bihar’s development all the time. “The state has prospered under his leadership since he has eradicated social strife along the lines of caste and religion,” said Sinha.

Speculations are rife that Sinha may be fielded by the JD(U) from Jehanabad Lok Sabha segment, which has a sizeable population of Bhumihar community to which Sinha belongs. Sinha is the second former state unit chief of the Congress to have joined the JD(U) in a year.

SPECULATION IS RIFE THAT SINHA MAY BE FIELDED BY THE JD(U) FROM JEHANABAD, WHICH HAS A SIZEABLE NUMBER OF BHUMIHARS, WHICH IS SINHA’S COMMUNITY