Patna: In a major setback for the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), two of its MLAs have joined the Janata Dal (U) on Monday. Nawada MLA Vibha Devi and Chote Lal Ray, the MLA from Parsa, are the two legislators who have switched sides ahead of the polls. The Minister for Rural Development in the Bihar government, Shravan Kumar, inducted them into the party.
Both met Speaker Nand Kishor Yadav and submitted her resignation to him on Sunday. The two MLAs of the RJD were also present at a rally addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gayaji on August 22, triggering reports that they might cross over to the NDA camp, ahead of state polls.
Devi's husband, Raj Ballabh Yadav was a former MLA and recently walked out of jail, following an acquittal by the Patna High Court in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) case for which he spent several years in jail.
The 243 Assembly seats will go to the polls in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with the results scheduled on November 14.
The NDA led by the BJP and JD(U) will be up against the INDIA bloc, led by Congress, RJD, CPI (ML), CPI, the CPM, and Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP). Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj will also contest on all 243 seats.
Tej Pratap Yadav To Contest From Mahua Seat
Meanwhile, former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Yadav's estranged son Tej Pratap Yadav will contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls from the Mahua seat in Vaishali district, returning to the seat where he registered his maiden victory in 2015. He will contest as the official candidate of his newly formed Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD).
