Sunday, November 23, 2008

Raghvendra Pratap Singh, RJD's likely candidate from Ara

Delimitation prompting several RJD MPs to seek new seats

Patna, (Bihar Times): As the RJD chief and railway minister, Lalu Yadav, is busy allotting seats for the coming election several sitting party MPs, including ministers, want change in their parliamentary constituencies.

Thanks to the delimitation many of them are feeling insecure. Prominent among them are Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav, Ram Kripal Yadav, Kanti Singh, Sadhu Yadav, Raghunath Jha http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7993771111626478689
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According to reports Union minister Kanti Singh is now no more keen to contest from Ara. Rather she wants to shift to the newly hewed out Karakat parliamentary constitutency. This is simply because post-delimitation the caste equation would suit her in Karakat and not Ara. Lalu is thinking in terms of fielding an upper caste candidate from Ara. Former MLA, Raghvendra Pratap Singh, is likely to be the choice.

Union minister of state for water resources development, Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav, wants to move out from Munger. It is said that Jai Prakash fears that the state Janata Dal (United) president, Lallan Singh, may throw his hat as Barh and Mokamah assembly segments have been included in the Munger parliamentary seat. There is a sizeable upper caste voters in these two segments and this may tilt balance against Yadav.

The Patna MP, Ram Kripal Yadav, is thinking in the same term as Patna has now two constituencies: Pataliputra and Patna Saheb. Ram Kripal will be comfortable in Pataliputra but speculations are rife in the media that Lalu himself wants to contest the seat as it has sizeable Yadav population. Ram Kripal, in such a case, would opt for some other place, may be Patna Saheb.

Sadhu Yadav is also finding himself in a tight spot as his Gopalganj seat has been declared reserved.

Jailed MP Mohammad Shahabuddin is not likely to contest poll from Siwan this time. In that case his relative and former minister, Ejaz-ul-Haq, is likely to contest. Similarly the party is in the look out for a strong candidate from Madhepura as another jailed MP Pappu Yadav may not be able to contest.

RJD won 22 seats from Bihar in 2004 election while it won two from Jharkhand.

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