LJP a headache for NDA in Bihar Assembly elections

Patna, Oct 31 (IANS): The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) is turning out to be a headache for the ruling NDA, particularly the Janata Dal (United), in the ongoing Bihar Assembly elections as it has fielded rebellion candidates against the JD-U on majority of the constituencies.

Earlier this month, the LJP had announced that it will contest the Bihar Assembly polls independently, severing ties with its once ally in the state, the NDA.

A lot of candidates, who were denied tickets following the seat sharing formula between the JD-U and the BJP, have joined the LJP and have been given tickets. Such a situation is likely to benefit the Mahagathbandhan in the state.

The Maharajganj constituency in Siwan is likely to witness the most interesting contest as JD-U has fielded Hem Narayan Singh while the LJP has fielded Deo Ranjan Singh, who turned rebel after the BJP denied him the ticket, whereas the Congress has given ticket to senior leader Vijay Shankar Dubey.

The situation is similar in all the eight Assembly constituencies in Siwan.

Both Shah and Singh contested the 2015 Assembly elections on tickets of the JD-U and the BJP, respectively. Shah had defeated Singh by a margin of 20,000 votes.

The poll campaigns in Maharajganj are also turning out to be quite interesting with Shah slamming his opponents for washing hands and maintaining distance with the voters.

Notably, Singh washes his hands every time he shakes hands with the voters in order to minimise the threat of coronavirus, while Congress candidate Dubey is campaigning from inside his SUV.

Taking a dig at both the candidates, Shah said one is continuously washing hands while the other is maintaining distance with the voters. This shows that both of them are avoiding the general public, he said.