Patna, Oct 4 (IANS) The political battle for Patna Graduates’ constituency in the Bihar Legislative Council elections got a fresh twist on Sunday, with state Minister and Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant Kumar throwing his weight behind party nominee Neeraj Kumar and coming out in the open to appeal for his victory with a huge margin.
The development assumes significance because Janata Dal-United (JD-U) MLA Anant Singh, also a former aide of Nitish Kumar, has openly backed Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) candidate Anuj Singh for Patna Graduates’ seat, bring to fore the sharp differences within the party.
Notably, Anuj has been fielded by JSP founder Prashant Kishor while Neeraj is Kumar is the official JD-U nominee.
Anant Kumar, the JD-U MLA from Mokama, has already announced his full support for Anuj, defying the party line.
A meeting of JD-U leaders and workers was held at the party office in Patna, ahead of the nomination filing scheduled for Monday.
Workers associated with the Patna Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituencies were specifically invited to the meeting.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Nishant Kumar spelled out party’s stance and appealed for support to Neeraj Kumar, saying that he is the NDA candidate from the seat.
“I appeal to all graduate and teacher voters in Patna to ensure massive victory for our NDA candidate. Neeraj ji has been associated with the party since the ‘Samata’ era. He is a socialist and has been a dedicated party worker. He has always remained committed to the party’s ideology. I urge you to ensure that Neeraj ji wins by a huge margin,” he said.
He also added that voting for Neeraj Kumar would effectively mean carrying forward the work done by former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the last 20 years and the ongoing development initiatives under the leadership of current Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary.
He urged the party workers to put their full strength into ensuring the victory of official NDA candidates across all seats.
Notably, the JD-U MLA Anant Singh has been campaigning against Neeraj Kumar and in support of Anuj Singh, the Jan Suraaj candidate for Patna Graduates’ constituency seat.
With Nishant coming out in support of Neeraj Kumar, it is seen as an indication of the JD-U top leadership’s stance regarding party MLA Anant Singh.
Prior to this, Neeraj Kumar had also met former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Bihar JD-U President Umesh Kushwaha has also termed Anant Singh’s defiance as ‘incorrect’ and said that the party’s top leadership is monitoring the entire situation.
–IANS
mnp/mr/khz
