 "Elections divide Bihar families in politics")
Politics has reached new heights in Bihar, where personal aspirations matter more than ideology or family. Surging ambitions to make it to the Parliament have divided many political families in the state in this poll season.
Close family members are competing against each-other to win over the electors. In some cases, they are doing so in the same area. Take the case of Lok Sabha speaker and daughter of former Deputy Prime Minister, the late Babu Jagjeevan Ram, Meira Kumar.
She is all set to face competition in the Sasaram seat from her niece Medhavi Kirti, who will be contesting on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket. Kirti is daughter of Ram's son, the late Suresh Kumar. Sasaram has been Meira Kumar's bastion for two terms since 2004. Earlier, her father used to represent the constituency in the Parliament. Since 2004, the BSP has also been able to make in-roads in the constituency and garnered almost 1 lakh votes in the 2009 general elections.
Meanwhile, another family drama is being unfolded in Buxar. Senior Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader, Jagdanand Singh is leaving no stones unturned to ensure that he retains his seat, whereas his son Sudhakar Singh is trying to get into contest on a BJP ticket.
A rice mill owner, Sudhakar Singh had earlier lost assembly election in 2010 on the saffron ticket, when his father threw his weight behind the RJD candidate Ambika Prasad Yadav. The father-son duo lives in the same ancestral house. However, it would be first political fight in their household. 1980, Singh Senior had also unsuccessfully contested elections as an independent against his brother, Sachidanand Singh.
Another interesting case would be the muscleman and former MP Pappu Yadav, who recently was acquitted by the Patna High Court in the assassination case of the Left Leader Late Ajit Sarkar. While Yadav is seeking votes as an RJD candidate in Madhepura, his wife Ranjita Ranjan would try her luck on Samajwadi Party ticket in the nearby Supaul constituency.
One of the most interesting cases is of Khagaria seat. Here strongman Ranbir Yadav's wife Krishna Kumari Yadav has been fielded by the RJD. Nothing seems unusual, except for the fact that his first wife and Krishna's elder sister Poonam Devi is already an MLA of the ruling Janata Dal (United). "We are a happy family. Poonam has given her blessing to Krishna. She would even campaign for Krishna," said Ranbir Yadav.
Close family members are competing against each-other to win over the electors. In some cases, they are doing so in the same area. Take the case of Lok Sabha speaker and daughter of former Deputy Prime Minister, the late Babu Jagjeevan Ram, Meira Kumar.
She is all set to face competition in the Sasaram seat from her niece Medhavi Kirti, who will be contesting on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket. Kirti is daughter of Ram's son, the late Suresh Kumar. Sasaram has been Meira Kumar's bastion for two terms since 2004. Earlier, her father used to represent the constituency in the Parliament. Since 2004, the BSP has also been able to make in-roads in the constituency and garnered almost 1 lakh votes in the 2009 general elections.
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Meanwhile, the fight for the nearby Karakat parliament seat is no less curious. Here, Jyoti Rashmi is contesting against her husband Pradeep Kumar Joshi. Rashmi, a legislator in the state assembly, has filed her nomination as an independent candidate, whereas Joshi is contesting as a candidate of Rashtriya Seva Dal. Joshi, a known strong man of the area, has more than 19 criminal cases pending against him. He was arrested on Tuesday just after filing his nomination.
Meanwhile, another family drama is being unfolded in Buxar. Senior Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader, Jagdanand Singh is leaving no stones unturned to ensure that he retains his seat, whereas his son Sudhakar Singh is trying to get into contest on a BJP ticket.
A rice mill owner, Sudhakar Singh had earlier lost assembly election in 2010 on the saffron ticket, when his father threw his weight behind the RJD candidate Ambika Prasad Yadav. The father-son duo lives in the same ancestral house. However, it would be first political fight in their household. 1980, Singh Senior had also unsuccessfully contested elections as an independent against his brother, Sachidanand Singh.
Another interesting case would be the muscleman and former MP Pappu Yadav, who recently was acquitted by the Patna High Court in the assassination case of the Left Leader Late Ajit Sarkar. While Yadav is seeking votes as an RJD candidate in Madhepura, his wife Ranjita Ranjan would try her luck on Samajwadi Party ticket in the nearby Supaul constituency.
One of the most interesting cases is of Khagaria seat. Here strongman Ranbir Yadav's wife Krishna Kumari Yadav has been fielded by the RJD. Nothing seems unusual, except for the fact that his first wife and Krishna's elder sister Poonam Devi is already an MLA of the ruling Janata Dal (United). "We are a happy family. Poonam has given her blessing to Krishna. She would even campaign for Krishna," said Ranbir Yadav.