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.

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Bihar Bandh against rape cases at shelter home; railway, road services hit

The state-wide shutdown is backed by opposition parties including RJD, Congress, Samajwadi Party.

Bihar Bandh : A shutdown called by the Left parties in Bihar on Thursday against the rape of 34 minor girls at a shelter home in Muzaffarpur district has hit rail and road traffic, police said.

The state-wide shutdown is backed by opposition parties including the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) (RJD), Congress, Hindustani Swam Morcha, Samajwadi Party and Lokrantrik Janata Dal.

Left party workers and supporters blocked railway tracks thereby affecting over a dozen trains since early Thursday morning.

According to reports reaching here, trains were stopped in Darbhanga, Madhubani, Jahanabad, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Patna and Bhojpur districts.

Protesters have also blocked several roads in Siwan, Bhojpur, Nawada, Patna, Arwal, Jagabad districts.

The case came to light earlier this year when the Bihar Social Welfare Department filed an FIR based on a social audit of the shelter home conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai.

The CBI on Sunday took over case following a recommendation by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

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Lok Sabha elections 2019: Left set to field Kanhaiya Kumar from Begusarai

The Left Front could get to contest on three seats in Bihar under a likely alliance with RJD and Congress.

Lok Sabha Elections 2019 : A Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-Congress-Left Front alliance is in the works in Bihar. According to sources, the Left, comprising six parties, is likely to get as many as three of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in that state to contest.

Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) chief Dipankar Bhattacharya has held meetings with RJD chief Lalu Prasad, while the state leadership of the Communist Party of India (CPI) is also in contact with Prasad.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) chief Sitaram Yechury met Lalu Prasad when the latter was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai. The two agreed that the Left Front should get adequate number of seats to contest in the Lok Sabha polls.

While the alliance is yet to be finalised, the Left Front could get to contest Begusarai and Jahanabad, besides either Samastipur or the adjoining Ujiyarpur.

Former Jawaharlal Nehru University students’ union leader Kanhaiya Kumar could get to contest the Begusarai seat on the CPI ticket, while the CPI (ML) might field a candidate as part of the alliance for the Jehanabad seat. Either Samastipur or Ujiyarpur could go to the CPI (M).

The RJD, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party already have an alliance in the state. Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustan Awam Morcha is also a constituent of the alliance. The Left parties have had a significant presence in Bihar.

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