LJP fields Ranjit Don in Bihar Legislative Council polls

The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) ally, the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), has fielded Ranjit Singh alias Ranjit Don, as its candidate for the biennial elections to the Legislative Council of Bihar, officials said on Friday.

Ranjit Singh was arrested by the CBI for his alleged role in leaking question papers of CAT, AIIMS and CBSE medical entrance examination in 2003.

He filed his nomination papers for the Bihar Sharif seat in Nalanda district, an official said.

LJP, a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), was given four of the 24 Legislative Council seats to contest.

The BJP is contesting from 18 seats and has given two seats to another ally, the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) of union minister Upendra Kushwaha.

After languishing in jail for nearly one-and-a-half years, Singh unsuccessfully contested the 2004 Lok Sabha polls as an independent candidate from the Begusarai Lok Sabha seat. He polled nearly 60,000 votes.

In the 2005 assembly polls, the LJP had given him the ticket to contest from Hilsa assembly seat. But he was again defeated.

According to police officials here, Singh was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after the sensational scam was unearthed.

Singh, whose real name is Kumar Suman Singh, has allegedly amassed huge wealth.

Last year, the Madhya Pradesh special task force (STF) officials interrogated Singh in connection with the probe into irregularities in Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) and Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC).

The biennial polls to the 24 Legislative Council seats are scheduled for July 7.