The Darbhanga Lok Sabha seat, represented by former test cricketer Kirti Azad, who recently quit the BJP and joined the Congress, on Tuesday emerged as a new bone of contention in the opposition Grand Alliance in Bihar, with the RJD stating that it wished to field its veteran leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui from the seat.
The Lalu Prasad-led party contended that its candidate had lost the seat to the BJP by a thin margin in 2014.
"Darbhanga is our traditional seat. We have won it many times. Even in the 2014 polls, which were swept by the BJP-led NDA, our candidate lost the battle by a thin margin.
"We would therefore like to contest the seat again and field Abdul Bari Siddiqui this time. A formal announcement would be made shortly," RJD MLA and chief state spokesman Bhai Virendra said here.
Notably, senior RJD leader Mohd Ali Ashraf Fatmi won the seat in all Lok Sabha polls since 1991 except on three occasions - 1999, 2009 and 2014.
The party's decision to field Siddiqui - a senior leader who has formerly been the leader of the opposition in the Assembly and served as the finance minister - is seen as a move to placate the veteran, who is said to have been sulking over being sidelined following the entry of Lalu Prasad's sons Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav into active politics.
When asked about Bhai Virendra's statement, Siddiqui said, "I am a disciplined party worker. If the party asks me to contest from Darbhanga, I will put my heart, mind and soul into the fight."
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