Bihar polls: Dissatisfaction grows within JDU over seat-sharing; MP Ajay threatens to quit
Ajay Kumar Mandal said in his 20-25 years of service to the Bhagalpur region, as an MP and MLA, he has considered JD(U) as his family, but "decisions made in the past few months" do not augur well for the future of the party
Dissatisfaction is growing within the JD(U) over the seat-sharing agreement for next month’s Bihar Assembly elections as party MP Ajay Kumar Mandal has sought Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s permission to resign.
JD(U) leaders and workers gathered outside Nitish’s residence in Patna on Tuesday (October 14) to protest. Security has been tightened outside his home. The ruling JD(U) is part of the NDA alliance.
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Union Minister and BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday said the seat-sharing agreement was finalised and the saffron party will contest in 101 seats and JD(U) in an equal number of constituencies in the 243-member Assembly. Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will contest 29 seats, while Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) will contest six seats each.
What Ajay wrote to Nitish
On Tuesday, MP Ajay wrote a letter to Nitish seeking his permission to resign. However, the Nitish-led party is yet to comment on it.
“Honourable Chief Minister Shri @NitishKumar ji, please grant permission to resign from the post of Member of Parliament. Despite being a local MP, my advice was not sought in any way regarding ticket allocation. Therefore, there is no justification for me to continue in the post of MP (sic),” Ajay wrote in Hindi on his X (formerly Twitter) account along with the letter.
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He said in his 20-25 years of service to the Bhagalpur region, as an MP and MLA, he has considered JD(U) as his family, but "decisions made in the past few months" do not augur well for the future of the party.
He alleged that the "prioritising outsiders" has "weakened the roots" of the JD(U), adding that "party workers are feeling sidelined".
This, he said, reflects poorly on the leadership of the chief minister.
Meanwhile, JD(U) MLA Gopal Mandal, who is understood to have a slim chance of getting a party ticket for the Assembly polls, on Tuesday sat on a dharna near Nitish’s residence in Patna.
Security personnel stop Gopal
Gopal, who is enjoying his fourth consecutive term from the Gopalpur seat in Bhagalpur district, reached 1, Anney Marg with a group of slogan-shouting supporters.
When security personnel stopped him from entering the premises, pointing out that he did not have an appointment, Gopal sat down close to the gate.
"I will not budge till I get the party symbol from the CM, who is our party's supremo. The security personnel may charge the baton if they wish," he told reporters.
Bihar Assembly elections will be held in two phases, on November 6 and 11. Results will be declared on November 14.