BJP gets Patna Sahib seat. Will Shatrughan Sinha be dropped?
The Bharatiya Janata Party may drop Shatrughan Sinha from Patna Sahib seat this election season and field Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad from the coveted constituency instead, a PTI report claimed. Prasad's name came up during a recent BJP's central election committee meeting. The marathon meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Party president Amit Shah was also present. Here's more.
Here are the details of NDA's seat-sharing arrangement in Bihar
To recall, BJP joined hands with JD(U) and LJP for the elections. While BJP and JD(U) got 17 seats each, LJP settled for six seats. Bihar sends 40 MPs to Lok Sabha. As per latest reports, the constituencies of Patliputra, Patna Sahib, Arrah, East Champaran, West Champaran, Sheohar, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Maharajganj, Saran, Buxar, Sasaram, Begusarai, Araria, Aurangabad, and Ujiyarpur, fell into BJP's lap.
Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) retained its fiefdom
Meanwhile, JD(U) will contest from Purnia, Madhepura, Supaul, Kishanganj, Katihar, Siwan, Balmiki Nagar, Jhanjharpur, Sitamarhi, Gaya, Gopalganj, Munger, Banka, Bhagalpur, Nalanda , Karakat and Jahanabad. Separately, Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP got Hajipur, Vaishali, Samastipur, Jamui, Nawada and Khagadia.
If not Sinha, then who? BJP discussed options
Apart from Prasad, the top brass of the saffron party also deliberated on other options. Rajya Sabha MP RK Sinha's name also came up. The important meeting was attended by Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi and party's Bihar unit chief Nityanand Rai. Notably, Sinha, who won the Patna Sahib seat by a huge margin in last elections, has been critical of PM Modi.
A few days ago, Sinha called out PM Modi's "jumlas"
Earlier last week, Sinha put out a series of tweets suggesting that PM Modi should make way for a "new leader". He noted that in the last few weeks PM Modi announced dozens of schemes. "Technically speaking it may not be against the code of conduct, but certainly it seems to be too little and too late jumlas," his tweet read.
You have many admirers, I am not one: Sinha
"Any way it all seems to be too little and too late. Promises made in the past are still to be fulfilled. Hope, wish and pray that- Mohabbat karne wale kam na honge (shayad), teri mehfil mein lekin ham na honge," tweeted Sinha.
Sinha once said BJP turned into "one-man show"
Sinha, who has been associated with the BJP since 1990s, once accused the party of turning into a "one-man show and two-man army". On several occasions, he hinted that LK Advani, the senior BJP leader who became a member of "margdarshak mandal", would have been a better choice for PM. Notably, Sinha was a minister in former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government.
Upset with Sinha's statements, BJP finally asked him to leave
While BJP ignored most of Sinha's statements, the sitting MP's presence at TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee's mahagathbandhan rally in January served as the last straw. BJP leaders disapproved of his decision and later Sushil Modi said Sinha should leave the party if he disliked it so much. Notably, Sinha had clarified he would seek re-election only from the Patna Sahib seat.
