Ara BJP MP says party ‘sold’ poll tickets, Rajnath differs

PATNA/ARA: Bureaucrat-turned-BJP MP Raj Kumar Singh on Saturday morning stunned the party leadership by accusing it of giving tickets to criminals, top party functionaries’ relatives and those ready to pay money. “RJD chief Lalu Prasad and former deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi have become same,” he said as if echoing party leaders and workers sulking after denial of ticket.
The state BJP leadership was unwilling to react initially, saying “it concerned the top leaders”. As the matter snowballed into a major controversy by afternoon, the party’s rank and file tried to assess the quantum of damage to the party’s poll prospects. Soon, Union home minister Rajnath Singh dismissed the Ara MP’s remarks. Grapevine has it party president Amit Shah had a conversation over the phone with MP Singh who retired from the post of the Union home secretary.
After Rajnath made his statement in Delhi, BJP general secretary in charge of the party’s Bihar affairs Bhupender Yadav said, “The BJP believes in transparency and in the idea that there should be no criminalization of politics. It believes in fairness.”
Union communications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, SuMo, party’s Ujiarpur MP Nityanand Rai, Rajya Sabha member C P Thakur and state BJP chief Mangal Pandey — all of whom figure on the list of party’s star campaigners led by PM Narendra Modi and party president Shah – also defended BJP on the issue of ticket distribution. The PM is to kick off electioneering in the state with a rally at Banka on October 2.
SuMo said, “Tickets are decided by the parliamentary board. Such questions are always raised during elections. The party has been transparent in deciding candidates for tickets.” Added Prasad, “I will not comment in what context he (Ara MP) said that. So far as I know the party tickets are given after detailed discussions and after looking into all aspects.”
State BJP chief Pandey said, “What the Ara MP said is wrong and confusing. He should not have gone to the media. He should have gone to the party forum.”
However, former minister Chandra Mohan Rai, who quit all party posts because his son was denied ticket, welcomed the protest made by the Ara MP. “Our charges against CM Nitish Kumar have lost all moral ground,” Rai said.
Comparing SuMo with Lalu, the sulking MP told newsmen at Ara both are of the same ilk and slammed the state BJP leadership for denying tickets to grassroots workers. There is widespread resentment for which SuMo is to blame, he said and regretted even sitting MLAs were denied tickets this time and money played an important role in allotting tickets. “Criminals have also been given tickets,” he said and added he repeatedly called SuMo to discuss the matter, but he never bothered to receive his calls.