Patna, June 9: Ending days of speculation, the Janata Dal-United Mon appointive national president Sharad Yadav, and party leaders Ghulam Rasool Baliyavi and Pawan Kumar Verma for elections to a few Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar.
All 3 leaders Mon filed their nomination papers.
Three freelance candidates – Anil Sharma, Sabir Ali and Dilip Jaiswal – additionally filed their papers.
Meanwhile, over half a dozen rebel JD-U legislators Mon proclaimed their support for 2 freelance candidates, Ali and Sharma.
Three rebel JD-U legislators – Raju Kumar Singh, Poonam Devi and Ravinder Rai – who were suspended by the party Sunday for anti-party activities, told media persons Mon that their support to the 2 freelance candidates was a “mere expression” of their protest “against proud party leadership”.
“We won’t support anyone against Sharad Yadav, he will be declared elective . All folks respect him,” they aforesaid.
The rebel legislators were present once Ali and Sharma filed their papers, and additionally met Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi.
“This shows their inclination to embarrass the JD-U high leadership, together with former chief minister Nitish Kumar,” a BJP leader said.
The election is scheduled for later this month.
JD-U politician Manjit Singh aforesaid the rebel legislators were doing such things on the instruction of the BJP and need to destabilise the authorities.
Sharad Yadav lost the Lok Sabha election from Madhepura constituency.
To ensure his presence in parliament so he will play a vigorous role in national politics, the JD-U set to send him to the Rajya Sabha, a celebration leader aforesaid.
Sabir Ali, a former JD-U parliamentarian, had joined the BJP before the Lok Sabha elections however was shown the door by the party following a press release by party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqbi that Ali had links with underworld don Dawood Abraham.
Sharma, who lost the Lok Sabha polls as a JD-U candidate from Jehanabad seat, recently aforesaid at a news conference here that he was offered to contest the Rajya Sabha election however he refused as solely “deserving” party leaders ought to contest.
Sharma, however, took a reversion Mon once he filed his nomination papers with support from the rebel JD-U legislators.
Sharma, an industrialist, was among the richest candidates within the Lok Sabha polls.
Jaiswal had additionally contested the Lok Sabha polls as a BJP candidate from Kishanganj constituency however lost.