JD(U) on verge of rebellion within

Several leaders, including two senior ministers in Bihar, have opened up front against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

Allotment of tickets to newcomers at the cost of old guards has brought the Janata Dal (United) on the verge of rebellion. Several leaders, including two senior ministers in Bihar, have opened a front against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Several seniors led by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh and Transport Minister Brishen Patel on Thursday met the JD(U) president to convey their displeasure at the allotment of tickets to party-hoppers. The delegation included party MPs Vishwa Mohan Kumar and Ashwamedh Devi.

Narendra Singh told reporters after the meeting, “The manner by which tickets are being distributed is controversial. Outsiders are preferred over long-time workers. Contenders must be vetted by the parliamentary board, not by a person. A committee should be constituted for deciding on candidates after consultation with party office-bearers and workers.” “They (new entrants into the party) are welcome in JD(U) but rewarding them with tickets instantly is not a good trend,” Singh said.

Meanwhile, Patel said there were many deserving candidates in the party ranks and all that was needed was “an eye for it”. “Old guards are being sidelined, while party hoppers are being rewarded. It becomes dangerous when the foundation of a building gets weaker.”

Singh had earlier openly objected to the announcement of the candidatures on JD(U) tickets of filmmaker Prakash Jha, Baidyanath Mahto and Awanish Kumar Singh by the CM during his sankalp yatra last week.

While the CM named Jha as the candidate for Bettiah, Awanish Kumar, who recently switched to JD(U) from the BJP, was named the nominee from Motihari. Mahto is being projected as the likely candidate of JD (U) from Balmikinagar. RJD stalwart Shakuni Chaudhary joined JD(U) on Wednesday and is expected to be nominated from Khagaria. Likewise, rebel RJD MLA Raghvendra Pratap Singh is tipped to get the ticket from Ara, while Anwarul Haque could be the contestant from Kishanganj. A former Lalu Prasad’s loyalist, Abu Kaiser, is also a frontrunner for the party from Bhagalpur. Kaiser joined JD(U) on Wednesday, along with Chaudhary.

Allotment of tickets to new entrants has irked many of the chief minister’s trusted lieutenants. Once considered as Kumar’s right-hand man and party legislator Gyanendra Singh "Gyanu" also lashed out the party leadership on candidate selection. He said, “Old workers of the party are being neglected and outsiders are promoted. It is saddening." The party responded by issuing him a show cause notice on Wednesday.

Earlier, JD (U) senior leader Devesh Chandra Thakur left the party after he was denied ticket last month.

In last one month more than a dozen rebel leaders from different parties have joined the JD (U). Many of them have been promised tickets to contest the upcoming elections. The CM has already said that the names of candidates would be declared before Holi, either in phases or at one go.