Jan Suraaj bets on ex-NDA leaders to make inroads in Gaya

Gaya: Virtually borrowing candidates from the rival NDA, Jan Suraaj has fielded former Chatra MP Dhirendra Agrawal from the Gaya Town assembly constituency and former JD(U) MLC Sanjiv Shyam Singh from the Gurua seat in Gaya district.Dhirendra Agrawal, who has thrice won the Lok Sabha election from Chatra, has been chosen by Prashant Kishor’s party to challenge BJP stalwart and EBC face Prem Kumar. Kumar has represented Gaya eight times in a row. The Congress has nominated former deputy mayor of Gaya city Mohan Srivastava as its candidate. Agrawal is the son of late Daya Prakash, former chief of the RSS in south Bihar.Jan Suraaj candidate from Gurua, Sanjiv Shyam Singh, is a two-term MLC from the Gaya Teachers’ Constituency. Prior to his selection by Jan Suraaj, Singh resigned from the primary membership of the JD(U).Elsewhere in the district, Jan Suraaj has also bet on candidates who were until recently active in the NDA. Laxman Manjhi, the party’s candidate from Bodh Gaya, was a prominent figure in the Jitan Ram Manjhi-led HAM(S). Similarly, Shashi Yadav, the Jan Suraaj candidate from Tekari, resigned from HAM(S) shortly before the election announcement. Shashi is the son of Ramashray Yadav, former vice-president of HAM(S). Both father and son quit the party only days before the Election Commission announced the Bihar poll schedule.Contacted over the phone, Jan Suraaj national council member Md Amjad said, “Though Agrawal and Singh do not have a Jan Suraaj background, every party considers winnability, and on this count both Agrawal and Singh are the most suitable candidates.”Agrawal was a last-minute choice after several others, including Gaya Bar Association president Syed Qaiser Sharfuddin, Gayawal Panda Mahesh Gupt, businessman Pramod Kumar, JD(U) leader Raju Burnwal and others, declined to contest as Jan Suraaj candidates.Both Sharfuddin and Burnwal said they had been approached by Jan Suraaj leaders but had refused the offer.Arun Kumar Prasad, a retired professor in charge of a Gaya-based college, and Gajendra Singh Chauhan, municipal councillor from ward no. 32 of the Gaya Municipal Corporation, had also applied for candidature, submitting Rs 21,000 as the application fee. However, the party did not nominate them.