Why RJD's Tejashwi is seeking votes for NDA in Purnia

Politics is volatile, where opponents can morph into allies and allies into opponents. While Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has allied with the opposition NDA, the electoral battle in Bihar's Purnia is a testimony of friends who turned foes.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, at a public rally in Bihar's Purnia, urged the crowd to support his party's candidate, yet in a twist, he sought votes for the Bharatiya Janta Party-led NDA candidate too.

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"Choose NDIA (bloc), and if you do not choose INDIA's Bima Bharti, then choose the NDA. Saaf baat! Saaf baat!," urged the former Deputy CM, at a rally in Gerabari (Katihar) on Monday.

While he sought votes for RJD candidate Bima Bharti, Tehashwi asked the voters to vote for the Janta Dal United candidate, Santosh Kushwaha, in case they didn't vote for his party's candidate.

The sole reason for Tajashwi's unusual request was Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav.

East Bihar's Purnia will witness a three-cornered clash with RJD's Bima Bharti pitted against Janata Dal (United) incumbent MP Santosh Kushwaha and the independent candidate Pappu Yadav, who locals say, has a good chance of emerging victorious on June 4.

Pappu Yadav, once an RJD leader, returned to the Purnia seat and made the contest one of the hot seats of the Lok Sabha elections of 2024.

While Tejashwi did not take the name of the JDU candidate, Santosh Kushwaha and Pappu Yadav, his call was loud and clear.

That the target was Pappu Yadav was anyone's guess.

It was obvious that the desperation to make things difficult for Pappu Yadav is what prompted Tejashwi Yadav to seek votes for the NDA.

Tejashwi Yadav also alerted the voters to not be deceived by anyone, as the election was not about "one person", but ideologies, of "INDIA and NDA".

THREE-CORNERED FIGHT AT PURNIA, PAPPU HAS AN EDGE

Purnia, the Seemanchal seat, otherwise a politically quiet constituency, is now one of India's hottest seats.

JD(U) Santosh Kumar Kushwaha, a two-time MP, is facing a wave of anti-incumbency for several unfulfilled promises and allegations of inaccessibility in Purnea.

RJD's Bima Bharti from the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) is the INDIA bloc candidate pitted against Kushwaha.

However, the focus isn't on the two as Pappu Yadav made a dramatic entry after being denied an RJD and a Congress ticket.

A rebellious Pappu Yadav filed his nomination as an Independent.

Pappu Yadav, the former Purnia MP from the 1990s, is back in the poll fray after almost 20 years and the locals are seen supporting him, owing to his proactive relief work carried out during the Covid pandemic and the Bihar floods.

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Reacting to the Tejashwi Yadav statement, Pappu Yadav said, "This is not just an MP election. The people of Purnia will write history this time."

Pappu Yadav, who was eyeing a Congress ticket from Purnia, had earlier blamed RJD Supremo Lalu Prasad for the rift in the 'Grand Alliance' and alleged, "I never wanted the constituents of the 'INDIA' bloc to unite in Purnia, West Bengal and Kerala."

Pappu Yadav had also alleged injustice to him and said, "Whenever I contested elections, he opposed me. I have been unable to understand his hatred towards me. They created obstacles."

Pappu Yadav, who has been to the Lok Sabha for various seats, in various affiliations, like Samajwadi Party, Lok Janata Party, RJD candidate, and as a candidate, has had a complex relationship with Lalu Prasad Yadav.

However, his political career has been marked by several controversies, including his involvement in the 1998 murder of CPI(M) firebrand leader and Purnia MLA Ajit Sarkar.

From saving the Lalu Yadav government from losing the majority in the Bihar Assembly to now, the RJD staking it all to defeat him at Purnia, the relationship has gone downhill, from that of cooperation and conflict.

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Pappu Yadav was with Lalu's RJD till 2014, but he was expelled from the party due to anti-party activities. After his expulsion, he formed the Jan Adhikar Party in 2015, with an agenda against the alliance of Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Sidelined, Pappu Yadav joined the Congress party and merged his Jan Adhikar Party with the Grand Old Party.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Pappu, whose wife Ranjeeta Ranjan is a Congress MP, also tried to get a Congress ticket. The RJD, instead, gave the ticket to Bima Bharti, a JD(U) turncoat, who held the sugarcane ministry in the Nitish Kumar cabinet.

Pappu Yadav has also sought the blessings of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, and he expressed his support for the Congress and the RJD, stating that together, they would win the 2024 and 2025 Bihar elections.

Published By: Sushim Mukul Published On: Apr 23, 2024