Denied ticket, BJP MP joins Congress
From Muzaffarpur, BJP has fielded Raj Bhushan Nishad, who was defeated by sitting MP Ajay Nishad in 2019 by more than 4.10 lakh votes
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, two-time MP from Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, Ajay Nishad, resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and joined the Congress on Tuesday.
This comes after the BJP, in its fifth list of candidates, gave the election ticket to Raj Bhushan Nishad from Muzaffarpur, who was defeated by Ajay Nishad in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with more than 4.10 lakh votes.
After joining Congress, Nishad said, “I always worked as per the party. They (the BJP) said that the survey was not good for me. The party leaders (of Congress Party) will decide this and I am ready (to contest elections).”
Earlier, while resigning from the BJP, the Muzaffarpur MP said that he was shocked by the betrayal of the BJP. “Respected @JPNadda ji, shocked by the betrayal of @BJP4India, I resign from all posts and primary membership of the party,” he posted on X.
Meanwhile, Congress leader and two-time Purnea MP Uday Singh alias Pappu Singh quit the party and announced he would not contest parliamentary elections.
Citing reasons, he said, “In Bihar, both national parties, BJP and Congress, have been playing second fiddle to state-level parties JD(U) and RJD.”
He expressed dismay over the induction of strongman Pappu Yadav into Congress and the party surrendering its traditional seat of Purnea to RJD.
“Even RJD has disappointed the people as the party could have fielded a better candidate on the seat.”
Singh siad he would play an active role in Bihar’s politics with Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj. “We’ll work for a change in Bihar and I can say that after the 2025 Assembly polls, Bihar will have a new dawn on the political horizon.”
Singh won from Purnea on a BJP ticket in 2004 and 2009. He joined Congress ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls after being denied BJP ticket as the seat had gone to JD(U) in the seat sharing deal. He later contested the seat on a Congress ticket but was defeated by JD(U)’s Santosh Kumar by a margin of over two lakh votes.