Lok Sabha elections 2019: Misa Bharti may contest from Patliputra seat

RJP leader Tej Pratap Yadav has said that Bharti, daughter of Lalu Prasad and a member of the Rajya Sabha, might contest the coming Lok Sabha elections 2019.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tej Pratap Yadav on Thursday announced that his sister and daughter of former Union minister Lalu Prasad, Misa Bharti, will contest from the Patliputra Lok Sabha seat. However, he said the final decision in this regard would be taken by party chief Prasad.

Misa had contested from the constituency in 2014 but lost. She is now slated to contest in the 2019 elections from the seat, although Bhai Virendra, an MLA from Maner constituency, voiced his desire to contest from the same seat recently.

Virendra had claimed that Bharti is currently a member of the Rajya Sabha and has three more years before her tenure ends, and hence she won't be contesting the Lok Sabha polls this year.

However, Bharti's brother reiterated that she would contest from Patliputra and wishes to drive women empowerment in the region. Tej Pratap also said he would personally campaign for his sister.

In October, a rift reportedly ensued between him and his brother Tejashwi Yadav. However, Bharti while addressing party workers in Bihar's Maner had asked them to ignore little things while saying "even our five fingers are not the same."

While Bharti's appeal to the party cadre was seen as a confirmation of the rift, she claimed that the statement was made in order to make workers understand that they should remain united despite differences, and had nothing to do with anybody in the family.

Business Standard