The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Pappu Yadav’s Purnea plunge may queer RJD pitch, give JDU an edge
FORMER MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, who has defied his party congress to file his nomination as an Independent from Purnea LS seat, has accused RJD, Congress’s senior Mahagathbandhan partner, of allegedly attempting to end his political career.
Breaking into tears before the camera, the five-time MP known for being a bahubali (strongman) politician in the Seemanchal region, said he had all the qualities to become an MP again, claiming that while the Congress has officially refused to back his candidatureas an independent, he had the “backing of his party”.
Pappu, who had recently merged his jan ad hi karp ar ty with the Congress, had been expecting the party’ s ticket from pu rn ea. but not only did therjd refuse these at to the Congress, it went on to field JD(U) rebel and former state ministerbi mab ha rat ia sits own nominee there, against sitting JD(U) MP Santosh Kumar Kushwaha.
In the 2019 ls polls, ku shwa ha had defeated the congress’ sud ay Singh by over 2.6 lakh votes.
Now that pap pu has joined the fray, Purnea is all set to see a triangular contest with the former likely to cut into the vote base of the Ma ha ga th band han’ s joint candid at eb ha ra ti, resulting in the NDA’S nominee Kushwaha gaining an advantage. Pappu had won from Purnea thrice — 1991, 1996 and 1999 — before shifting to Madhepura, which he went on to win twice.
After filing his nomination Thursday, Pappu said, “By denying me the Purnea ticket, the RJD is trying to murder me politically. I had been insisting on contesting from Purnea and had conveyed the same to top leaders of Congress before I merged my party with it. I had also met RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who advised me to try for Madhepura or Supaul. But I had told him that I preferred P urn ea because of my connection with the people there.”
“If Lalu Prasad’s sons and daughters in politics meet the qualifications to become politicians,sodoi.mujhmek ya ka mi hai (What do I lack)?” he said.
Pappu had started his career as the political manager of socialist leader and former MP Sharad Yadav. Highlighting his long association with Bihar’s Seemanchal and Kosi regions (comprising Purnea, Saharsa, Madhepura and Supaul), he claimed: “I have my party’ s backing for pu rn ea battle .”
Bihar Congress chief Akhilesh
Pr a sad singh said :“the party does not support his (Pappu’s) candidature .” the state congress has officially maintained it will strongly back the candidature ofrjd candidate in the P urn ease at allotted to its senior ally as part of their seatsharing arrangement under which the RJD is contesting 26 seats and the congress 9 out of the state’s 40, with the remaining five allotted to the Left parties.
A section of the state Congress claims that akhil es hp ra sad singh had been against Pappu joining the party and contesting from Purnea. “As Pappu Yadav’s wife Ranjeet Ranjan is already a Congress rs mp, ak hi leshwa sun easy.
If Pappu grows in the Congress, Akhilesh could lose his clout,” said a party leader.
An RJD leader said, “Pappu Yadav’s candidature from Purnea must not be taken lightly. Given his popularity, he would make the battle a keenly contested one. It will be anyone’s game in Purnea now.”
He said the RJD could not afford the rise of any Yadav leader in the Mahagathbandhan camp with its no. 2 and Lalu’s son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav being widely acknowledged as its key face now.
Purnea will go to the polls in the second phase on April 26.