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New Delhi, Oct 21 (IANS) BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain on Tuesday criticized the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for fielding candidates with “criminal” background in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, saying a significant number of the RJD’s 143 candidates have criminal records.
Speaking to IANS, Shahnawaz Hussain said, “In Bihar, RJD has announced its candidates. Most of their 143 candidates have criminal records. Some are out on bail, some have gone to jail, and some are facing imminent punishment. Through this list, RJD has openly exposed the internal rift within the grand alliance. One of their candidates even went to jail after filing nomination.”
He said, “NDA will win. Under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, and with the support of Upendra Kushwaha, Chirag Paswan and Amit Shah’s strategy, we will win the Bihar elections with an overwhelming majority. Many leaders in the grand alliance are at odds with each other and fighting internally. Given their disagreements, how can they expect to stand against the NDA?”
Meanwhile, confusion and internal disagreements within the grand alliance have led to an unusual situation in a constituency in Darbhanga district, where Tejashwi Yadav is expected to campaign against an RJD candidate contesting on his own symbol.
Seat-sharing among the grand alliance partners has been controversial, and many differences remain unresolved. As a result, many constituencies in Bihar will see “friendly battles”, pitting alliance partners against each other.
The matter of seat sharing in Gaura Bauram assembly constituency has reached its peak. Before the opposition faction finalized its arrangements, RJD had declared Afzal Ali Khan as its candidate from Gaura Bauram, awarded him the party symbol and official nomination documents.
Afzal, very happy with the confirmation, left Patna for his constituency, on a four-hour journey to launch his campaign. However, by the time he arrived, backchannel talks between the RJD and Mukesh Sahni’s Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) had changed the plan. As part of the final agreement, Gaura Bauram was allotted to VIP, and all grand alliance partners were instructed to support VIP candidate Santosh Sahni.
A similar incident took place in Banswara, Rajasthan during the Lok Sabha elections, where Congress first fielded Arvind Damor and later withdrew support in favor of Bharat Adivasi Party’s Rajkumar Rot. Despite being asked to return the party symbol, Damor disappeared and re-emerged after the deadline, leading Congress leaders to start campaigning against the candidate wearing his own party’s symbol. Roat ultimately won, but Damore still garnered more than 60,000 votes – highlighting how this kind of confusion can affect a hotly contested race.
–IANS
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