LJP MP Arun Bharti slams RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav over vote theft allegations and questions Mahagathbandhan’s unity. Yadav accuses the Election Commission of concealing voter data and acting as a ‘tool’ for the BJP ahead of the second poll phase.
LJP MP slams Tejashwi Yadav over vote theft allegations
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP Arun Bharti on Monday launched a sharp attack on RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, accusing his supporters of troubling voters and questioning the party’s claims of alleged vote theft. Speaking to ANI, Bharti said, “Tejashwi Yadav should keep in mind how his supporters are troubling the public because people are not voting in their favour… If they are alleging vote theft, why don’t they go to court? The discord among them is evident from the fact that on the SIR issue, the entire Mahagathbandhan, Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, and Mukesh Sahani were seen together on one jeep, but since the election campaigning started, Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, Mukesh Sahni have not been seen on the same platform, so what’s going on inside?…”
Tejashwi Yadav attacks EC over voter turnout data
Earlierm Tejashwi Yadav demanded an explanation from the Election Commission for not releasing male and female turnout figures from the first phase of polling held on November 6. “The first phase of the elections was on November 6. Today is November 10. Even after 4 days, the data has not been made public… Earlier, they used to tell on the same day manually. Why is the data being concealed? The voting is on November 11 and the voting is on the 14th. But you won’t know for more than 4 days how many votes were cast… BJP will carry on with its sins and the Election Commission will keep covering… The Election Commission is dead and has become a tool,” the RJD leader said.
Second phase of Bihar assembly polls underway
All arrangements are in place for the second phase of Bihar assembly polls, which will decide the fate of 1,302 candidates, including some senior leaders of the ruling NDA and opposition Mahagathbandhan. The state saw a record 65.08 per cent polling in the first phase of polling with all political parties, including Jan Suraaj, interpreting the high voter turnout in their favour. A total of 3.70 crores voters are eligible to exercise their franchise across 122 constituencies in the second phase, which saw a hectic campaign by political leaders.
Key candidates and constituencies
The second phase will decide the fate of 12 ministers from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s cabinet. Among them are JD(U) leaders Vijendra Yadav (contesting from Supaul assembly constituency), Lesi Singh (Dhamdaha), Jayant Kushwaha (Amarpur), Sumit Singh (Chakai), Mohammad Jama Khan (Chainpur), and Sheela Mandal (Phoolparas).
Ministers from the BJP in the fray include Prem Kumar (Gaya), Renu Devi (Bettiah), Vijay Kumar Mandal (Sikati), Nitish Mishra (Jhanjharpur), Neeraj Bablu (Chhatapur), and Krishnanandan Paswan (Harsiddhi).
Other key constituencies include Sasaram, Imamganj, Mohania, Bihpur, Gopalpur, Pirpainti, Bhagalpur, Sultanganj, and Nathnagar.
The first phase of polling in Bihar concluded recently, with elections for 122 seats scheduled on November 11 for the second phase. The results of the Bihar Assembly elections will be announced on November 14.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)