RK Singh not to campaign for ‘tainted’ Bihar polls contestant

Three days after he alleged that money played a role in distribution of party tickets, former bureaucrat and BJP MP from Ara, RK Singh, made it clear that he would not campaign for any of the tainted candidates put up by his party.

He said, “Workers are by and large ‘feeling downcast’ over the manner in which tickets were distributed”.

“It is not the question of me getting upset. It is the workers who are upset. I went to Ara and could sense the dissatisfaction prevailing in the party,” he told HT on Tuesday.

Singh said, “The dissent in the party is to be seen to be believed. The Muzaffarpur party office has not opened for past 15 days. Gopalganj party office was vandalised by party workers.”

“What is the difference between you (BJP) and Lalu Prasad if you give tickets to criminals?” Singh asked, reiterating, “If people believe that your government will provide good governance, then you should act in the same way. What good governance will you deliver this way? People would vote for the clean image of candidates, over criminals,” he added.

BJP has fielded the maximum number of ‘tainted’ candidates so far for the upcoming Bihar polls with at least 47 of them having cases registered against them. Of them, 12 candidates face serious charges such as murder, kidnapping and extortion.

When asked if he had evidence to prove his allegations, he said, “It is a fact and not allegation. Popular sitting MLAs have been denied tickets while criminals have been accommodated. No wonder party workers are enraged.”

The timing of his allegations has embarrassed the BJP and provided ammunition to its rivals.

“A BJP MP has openly declared how tickets are being given in their party. We are not saying it. They are themselves saying it. We don’t even need to say anything. The true colours of the BJP have been exposed. It’s just a coalition of opportunists,” chief minister Nitish Kumar said at a rally in Naughaccia recently.

While the Bihar BJP leaders are tight-lipped over Singh’s allegation, party sources rule out any action at this juncture. If sources are to be believed, party president Amit Shah and home minister Rajnath Singh had a talk with the former home secretary in this regard.