Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad's candidature form high-profile Patna Sahib constituency has angered his Rajya Sabha colleague Ravindra Kishore Sinha, who was vying to contest from there.
Infighting has broken out in almost all political parties over ticket distribution. On Tuesday, it was the turn of the BJP, which faced the wrath of workers in Bihar and Karnataka.
The opposition alliance in Bihar is also facing dissent, with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress indulging in a verbal duel over the Darbhanga constituency.
In Bangalore South, Tejaswini Ananth Kumar, wife of late union minister Ananth Kumar, had to leave her campaign midway after she learnt that Tejasvi Surya had been nominated for the seat. "It is shocking to [my workers] and even to me. I have been telling myself it is important to show our maturity, that we are a party with a difference," she said.
Her husband Ananth Kumar was a five-time Parliamentarian from the seat.
In a similar vein in Bihar, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad's candidature form high-profile Patna Sahib constituency has angered his Rajya Sabha colleague Ravindra Kishore Sinha, who was vying to contest from there.
To the embarrassment of the party, supporters of Sinha had blocked the exit of the Patna airport, raising slogans "Go back Ravi Shankar" as he arrived in the city to file nomination. "After RK Sinha's supporters raised slogans against Prasad at the Patna airport, there was a clash between the two groups. The police had to intervene to separate them and bring the situation under control," a police source said.
Prasad said he was committed to the return of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a second term. "I was born and brought up in Patna and I have a great attachment with this place," he said. Prasad, along with state BJP chief Nityanand Rai, met party workers at the BJP office in Patna and sought their support for the polls.
The simmering anger within the opposition alliance too has come to the fore. The RJD and the Congress are indulging in a verbal duel over Darbhanga. The constituency was represented by suspended BJP MP Kirti Azad, who recently joined the Congress. Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Madan Mohan Jha said, "We have demanded the seat because the MP is with us. Everyone can stake their claim… When the senior leaders of the Mahagathbandhan meet, the discussions will take place and whatever consensus is reached, it will be followed by us too."
RJD's Bhola Yadav though countered Jha's claim, saying Azad was a BJP MP not Congress. "Darbhanga has been our traditional seat," he said. The RJD wants to field its senior leader and former Bihar minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui from Darbhanga. A source said the RJD and Congress were also fighting over the Madhubani and Jhanjharpur seats, despite announcing a seat-sharing formula publicly.
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