Congress asks Pappu Yadav to withdraw Purnea Lok Sabha nomination

Purnea: The Congress leadership in Bihar has asked Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav to withdraw his nomination from the Purnea Lok Sabha seat, party officials said on Friday.

Yadav, a five-time former MP who joined Congress last month, filed his nomination from Bihar’s Purnea Lok Sabha seat as an independent candidate on Thursday, setting the stage for a triangular contest in the constituency, which was allotted to INDIA bloc ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) as part of the seat-sharing deal.

Talking to media persons in Patna, Bihar Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh said, “There is no debate over it in the Congress. The party’s high command has already put its stamp over the seat sharing of the Mahagathbandhan alliance. Congress has not permitted any candidate to contest as an Independent. Congress will contest nine seats in Bihar.”

Also Read: INDIA bloc in Bihar seals seat-sharing deal, RJD gets 26 seats, Congress 9

On Yadav filing his nomination as an Independent candidate, Singh said, “The party will not accept this. He will be advised that the date of withdrawal of nomination is not over yet and he should withdraw the nomination.”

Singh said the Congress would contest only two seats in Seemanchal-Kishanganj and Katihar. Dr Mohammad Jawed and Tariq Anwar have been allotted party tickets and both have already filed their nominations from Kishanganj and Katihar, respectively.

As part of the seat-sharing deal of Bihar’s opposition alliance Mahagathbandhan, Purnea was allotted to the RJD, which has fielded five-time MLA Bima Bharti, who quit the Janata Dal(United) last month and joined RJD.

Also Read: Pappu urges Lalu to ‘look beyond family’, spare Purnea for him

“I just seek the support and blessings of Lalu Prasad (RJD chief Lalu Yadav). I don’t need anything else. I have full support of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and party leader Priyanka Gandhi,” Pappu Yadav said.

Rajesh Yadav, a close aide of Pappu Yadav, said that there is no question of withdrawing the nomination. “Our leader is busy campaigning day and night.”

Polling in Bihar will be held across seven phases of the Lok Sabha elections. Purnea, along with Kishanganj, Katihar, Bhagalpur and Banka, will vote on April 26 in the second phase.