JD(U) releases candidate list; drops two sitting MPs, fields two turncoats

The JD(U), headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, on Sunday announced candidates for all the 16 Lok Sabha seats it is contesting in the state, dropping two sitting MPs and fielding two turncoats.

The announcement was made here by the party's national vice president Vashishth Narayan Singh in the presence of several other senior JD(U) leaders.

The seats where sitting MPs have been dropped are Sitamarhi, where legislative council chairman Devesh Chandra Thakur will be the JD(U) candidate, and Siwan, where Vijay Laxmi Kushwaha got the ticket just a day after she joined the party along with husband Ramesh Singh Kushwaha who was the state president of Rashtriya Lok Morcha, an NDA ally.

Another turncoat to have got the party ticket is Lovely Anand, who had quit the RJD to join the JD(U) earlier this month. She will be contesting the polls from Sheohar.