Even as the prime minister was holding forth at a rally in Rajasthan about infighting within the INDIA formulation, a scuffle was reported between workers of the Congress and the RJD, stemming from a dispute over the Chatra Lok Sabha constituency which both allies had been eyeing. The workers of both parties hurled chairs at each other, leaving several injured, it is claimed.
According to reports, the supporters of RJD and the Congress candidate from Chatra, K N Tripathi, clashed when INDIA bloc leaders were present on the dais during the rally. Tripathis brother Gopal suffered serious injuries in the clash, sources claimed. Security personnel intervened and brought the situation under control.
Tripathi, who had been a minister in the Jharkhand cabinet, claimed that 10-15 outsiders had entered the venue with an intention to create disturbance. But that was fodder enough for BJP leader and former union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to charge that the opposition bloc was a quarrelsome alliance. A video of the clash went viral on social media. RJD workers were agitated over the Chatra seat going to the Congress under the seat sharing deal in Jharkhand.
As per the seat-sharing deal, Congress will contest on seven seats, JMM on five, and RJD and CPI (ML) one seat each.
