New Delhi : Even as BJP campaigns against RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav for blatantly promoting his family members in the party, its allies like the LJP and HAM have sons and nephews of netas figuring prominently in their candidates’ lists. At least a dozen senior BJP leaders are also lobbying hard for their sons in this high stakes assembly polls. A few of them are likely to succeed in their efforts, it is learnt.
Chirag Paswan, son of LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan and Chairman of the LJP Parliamentary Board, released the first list of candidates after several rounds of hard bargaining with the BJP. The first list includes his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras and cousin Prince Raj as candidates. While Paras is the Bihar chief of the party and Ram Vilas Paswan”s younger brother, Prince Raj is the son of Paswan”s other younger brother Ram Chandra. Ram Chandra is also an MP of Lok Sabha. LJP sources said two more names in the 12-member candidates’ list are relatives of the Paswan family but the party refused to confirm or deny it officially.
Just a few hours after the LJP list, BJP’s newest ally in Bihar, former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi-led HAM, also released its first list of 13 names. Here too Manjhi and his son Santosh are the star contenders. While Manjhi would contest from his traditional bastion Makhudumpur, his son Santosh Kumar Suman is a candidate from Kutuma assembly seat. Not only the Manjhis, even HAM”s state president Shakuni Chaudhary is contesting along with his son Rohit Kumar in these polls. Shakuni Chaudhary would fight from his home town Tarapur while Rohit has been nominated from Khagaria. Chaudhary”s other son Samrat Chaudhary is already a household name in Bihar politics after he revolted against the Nitish Kumar govt in support of Manjhi.
However, the BJP cannot hide behind allies when it comes to fielding candidates from the same family. A dozen of its leaders are ready to stake their careers for the sake of their sons. MP Ashwini Chaubey has left no stone unturned to bag a ticket for his son from Bhagalpur assembly which Chaubey had been representing till he became a Lok Sabha member. Similarly, veteran party leader Lal Muni Chaubey and Om Prakash Yadav are lobbying hard for their sons. The others who are in line include senior leader and former union minister CP Thakur, Narendra Singh and Jagdish Sharma. Sources said even though PM Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah are against the idea of promoting two members from the same family, a few of the above may succeed in their efforts as the party bosses would not want rebellion or sabotage in this crucial elections.
New Delhi: The ‘NOTA’ option on electronic voting machines introduced in 2013 now has its own symbol – a ballot paper with a black cross across it. The Bihar assembly polls will be the first where the symbol will appear next to the ‘none of the above option’ on the last panel of EVMs and ballot papers. The symbol was designed by the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad for the poll watchdog, the Election Commission said today.
After the Supreme Court order in September, 2013, EC added the NOTA button on the EVMs as the last option on the voting panel.
