State RJD chief dumps Lalu’s party to join BJP
ASRP Mukesh | TNN | Mar 26, 2019, 05:29 IST
BJP national president Amit Shah welcomes former RJD state chief Annapurna Devi to the saffron party fold in t... Read MoreRanchi: A day after her party walked out of the Jharkhand mahagathbandhan, state RJD president Annapurna Devi on Monday crossed over to BJP at a formal ceremony in New Delhi. Devi was earlier known as one of RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s trusted lieutenants.
Chief minister Raghubar Das, BJP national chief Amit Shah, national secretary Bhupendra Yadav and state president Laxman Gilua were present when Devi switched her allegiance to the saffron party, RJD’s arch-rival.
Soon after Devi’s exit, RJD convened a meeting that chose Gautam Sagar Rana as its new state chief. Earlier, for weeks, it had constantly denied speculation about Devi switching her political loyalties.
As a prelude to her entry into BJP, Devi had met Das and Yadav at the CM’s Kanke Road residence here on Sunday evening, hours after RJD dumped the mahagathbandhan after the latter refused to give it more than one Lok Sabha seat in the state. The Lalu Prasad-led party had sough to fight in at least two constituencies.
On Monday morning, Devi left here for Delhi where she was later joined by Das and Gilua. They later called a press conference at the BJP headquarters to announce entry into BJP. Besides Devi, former RJD MLA Janardan Paswan also joined BJP. Sources said a few more senior RJD leaders may join the saffron party soon.
In local political circles, Devi’s departure is seen as a major blow to RJD, which is trying to expand its base in the state. Initially, RJD had asked the mahagathbandhan to allot three seats — Chatra, Palamu and Koderma, all bordering south-eastern Bihar. Following objections from other mahagathbandhan constituents, it focussed on Chatra and Palamu. But mahagathbandhan did not want to give it any other seat other than Palamu.
Chief minister Raghubar Das, BJP national chief Amit Shah, national secretary Bhupendra Yadav and state president Laxman Gilua were present when Devi switched her allegiance to the saffron party, RJD’s arch-rival.
Soon after Devi’s exit, RJD convened a meeting that chose Gautam Sagar Rana as its new state chief. Earlier, for weeks, it had constantly denied speculation about Devi switching her political loyalties.
As a prelude to her entry into BJP, Devi had met Das and Yadav at the CM’s Kanke Road residence here on Sunday evening, hours after RJD dumped the mahagathbandhan after the latter refused to give it more than one Lok Sabha seat in the state. The Lalu Prasad-led party had sough to fight in at least two constituencies.
On Monday morning, Devi left here for Delhi where she was later joined by Das and Gilua. They later called a press conference at the BJP headquarters to announce entry into BJP. Besides Devi, former RJD MLA Janardan Paswan also joined BJP. Sources said a few more senior RJD leaders may join the saffron party soon.
In local political circles, Devi’s departure is seen as a major blow to RJD, which is trying to expand its base in the state. Initially, RJD had asked the mahagathbandhan to allot three seats — Chatra, Palamu and Koderma, all bordering south-eastern Bihar. Following objections from other mahagathbandhan constituents, it focussed on Chatra and Palamu. But mahagathbandhan did not want to give it any other seat other than Palamu.
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