Bihar Polls: This independent candidate who asks Muslims to leave his rally is hurting BJP in Rohtas

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address his rally in Rohtas on Friday where one of the challengers, an independent candidate Pradeep Joshi is creating a lot of trouble for the Bharatiya Janata Party.

With an extreme right-wing ideology, he is well known for his anti-minority rhetoric and BJP leaders take no time to label him as a communal leader.

He first became an MLA in 2005 when he defeated the then RJD minister Iliyas Hussain by a massive margin. In 2010, however, he was convicted in a case thereby disallowing him to contest in assembly elections. But his popularity took no hit as even when he was in jail, his wife contested the election and won it.

The Indian Express reports that everywhere the couple visits, they first ask the crowd for Muslims and ask them to leave the rally because they say that they don't want their votes. 

The existence of Pradeep Joshi & his MLA wife Jyoti Rashmi Joshi makes the contest in  Rohtas a triangular one with Jatendra Kumar of RLSP (from NDA) and Iliyas Hussain of RJD (from the grand alliance) also in the fray.

During the campaign, it has been reported that Jatendra focuses on attacking Pradeep Joshi more than the RJD candidate, calling him 'Natwar Lal'.

Although if ground reports are to be believed Joshi will only deter the chances of BJP and it's not going to affect RJD leader Hussain on October 16 when the voting is scheduled for this constituency.