BJP's Ram Kripal Yadav To Contest In Pataliputra For The Third Consecutive Term (image@ramkripalmp)
From the Bihar”s Pataliputra Lok Sabha constituency, BJP fielded Ram Kripal Yadav once again. Ram Kripal has been serving as the MP of the constituency for the last two terms. From 2014 Lok Sabha election, in Pataliputra, its a battle between Ram Kripal Yadav and RJD”s Misa Bharti. The 2024 Lok Sabha election will be scorching hot.
Ram Kripal, who is a senior BJP leader now, started his political career as RJD member. He served as RJD member for 17 years, and was a close aide of the party supremo. He joined BJP in 2014 right ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. His claim was RJD was promoting “family justice” instead of social justice. The BJP MP wanted to contest from Pataliputra on the RJD ticket, but when the party supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav fielded his daughter Misa Bharti, Ram Kripal Yadav rebelled and quit the party to join its major rival, BJP.
Though, he managed to clinch victory during the last two Lok Sabha election, Bharti, eldest daughter of RJD president and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, was not far behind. During the 2014 election, when Ram Kripal won the seat with 39.16 percentage of votes, Bharti was close behind with 35.04 percentage, which is less than five percentage vote margin. And in the 2019 general election, when he won 47.28 percentage of votes, Bharti won 43.63 percentage of votes, which is near to three percentage difference.
The Pataliputra constituency was formed in 2009. During the general election of the year, the seat was won by Ranjan Yadav on JDU ticket. Ranjan Yadav is now a member of RJD. Notably, Ram Kripal Yadav addressed Misa Bharti as his niece, and said that she is like a daughter to him. While addressing public during Holi celebration function, Ram Kripal Yadav said that, “She (Misa Bharti) is a daughter and will remain a daughter. There is and will be an uncle-niece relationship as long as I am alive. We do not contest elections, the public fights and it is the public”s job to win and lose”, as quoted by media.
