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PATNA: Standing outside the 10 Circular Road residence of former Bihar CM Rabri Devi, RJD member Madan Shah tears his kurta in despair and screams for the world to hear, “Lalu ji promised me a ticket for the Madhuban seat, but it was given to someone else.
I will die… Can’t bear the pain.”Nearby, another purportedly distraught ticket aspirant, Usha Devi, bawls in front of reporters. In Gopalganj, former RJD legislator Reyazul Haq Raju breaksdown during a live online session.Dramatic public demonstrations of anger and despair by sidelined aspirants have added to the woes of a disjointed INDIA bloc as itstruggles to mount a campaign to rival NDA’s for the first phase of voting on Nov 6.
Filing of nominations for the second phase closes Monday.RJD, Cong insiders surprised as brass stays silent on friendly fightsSome seats have witnessed INDIA bloc partners fielding candidates against each other. Till late Sunday, none of them had withdrawn their nominations. Insiders in RJD and Congress said they were surprised the Mahagathbandhan brass hadn’t stepped in yet, resulting in voters getting the wrong signals.In contrast, NDA is going full steam ahead with its campaign.
Union home minister Amit Shah has returned to Delhi after a three-day trip while education minister Dharmendra Pradhan is camping in Bihar. The CMs of BJPgoverned Goa, Haryana and Tripura have already addressed rallies in various parts of the state. PM Narendra Modi is scheduled to launch his campaign in Samastipur on Oct 24.“INDIA bloc biggies need to sit together and tell the people that we are united, and there is no conflict among us,” Congress MP from Katihar Tariq Anwar told TOI Sunday, acknowledging the impact of the discord.
“We hope everything will be sorted out by Monday. There must not be any scope for a so-called friendly fight.” Although tension is mounting within, the INDIA bloc brass has been largely absent from the campaign trail. RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, perceived as the opposition’s CM face, remains in Patna, chalking out strategy at home. There is no clarity yet on the campaign plans of Congress functionaries, including Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.State RJD spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan sought to downplay the concerns. “Tejashwi will embark on a poll campaign after Diwali. Every party in INDIA bloc wants him to attend rallies for their candidates. Although Tejashwi has filed his nominations from the Raghopur seat, he is, in fact, contesting all 243 seats in Bihar.”Usha Devi, who was spotted weeping outside Rabri’s residence over the weekend, said she didn’t expect to be treated so badly by RJD. “I have been associated with RJD for 20 years, almost as a torchbearer for the party in the region. But the ticket went to someone else… This is heart-breaking” she said.
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