Patna: The RJD leadership has taken strict action against party leaders contesting elections against the party's official candidates for engaging in anti-party activities, removing 27 leaders from all positions with immediate effect and expelling them from the party's primary membership for six years.
Notification Issued
State President Manganilal Mandal issued a notification to this effect on Monday evening.
RJD spokesperson Chittaranjan Gagan stated that, as per a notification issued by state party president, MLAs Chhotelal Yadav and Mohammad Kamran, former MLAs Ramprakash Mahato, Anil Sahni, Saroj Yadav, Anil Yadav, former MLC Ganesh Bharti, state president of the women's cell Ritu Jaiswal, as well as party officials Akshay Lal Yadav, Ramsakha Mahato, Avnish Kumar, Bhagat Yadav, Mukesh Yadav, Sanjay Rai, Kumar Gaurav, Rajiv Kushwaha, Mahesh P. Gupta, Vakil Prasad Yadav, Poonam Devi, Subodh Yadav, Surendra P. Yadav, Neeraj Rai, Anil Chandra Kushwaha, Ajit Yadav, Moti Yadav, Ramnaresh Paswan, and Ashok Chauhan have been expelled from the party's primary membership for six years.
"If independent candidates contesting elections against official party candidates attempt to create confusion by using the names and photographs of party leaders in any way, they will face legal action," he added.
Meanwhile, BJP has also initiated disciplinary action against six leaders, including a sitting MLA, for indulging in anti-party activities, according to a statement issued by Bihar unit of the BJP.
The six leaders—including outgoing MLA from Kahalgaon Pawan Yadav—have been suspended with immediate effect after the allegations of working against the party’s principles were found true. Yadav, however, said that it was an arbitrary decision.
Besides MLA Yadav, Sunny Yadav, Shravan Kushwaha, Uttam Choudhary, Maruti Nandan Maruti and Pawan Choudhary have been suspended. “All the suspended leaders were working against the officially declared candidates of the NDA and against the ideology of the party,” a senior BJP leader said.
The sitting MLA Yadav is contesting assembly election from Kahalgaon assembly seat as an Independent after he was denied ticket by the BJP. Sources said that all the leaders have been expelled from the party for a period of six years.
The action against these leaders is viewed as damage control exercise by Bihar unit of BJP to keep the alliance intact. BJP and JD(U), two major allies of NDA, are contesting 101 seats each while Chirag Paswan’s LJP(RV) has fielded 29 candidates.
Two other NDA partners—HAM and RLM—are contesting six seats each. Assembly elections are to be held in two phases—on November 6 and 11.
Earlier, JD(U) initiated action against its 16 rebels, including a sitting MLA and two former MLAs, for contesting elections defying party’s directives.
