Exodus wipes out RJD presence in Hazaribag

Hazaribag: RJD’s Hazaribag district unit has virtually been wiped out with two of its senior leaders and former state presidents — Annapurna Devi and Girinath Singh — joining BJP in quick succession. Several of their supporters and party workers, including at least six prominent local leaders, also left RJD on Friday.
Sources said the resignations are in protest against the remarks made by RJD’s new state president Gautam Sagar Rana about Devi and Singh, who had served the party for a long time. Prominent among those who have resigned included state vice-president-cum-spokesperson Harish Srivastava, district president Bhuvaneshwar Patel, district youth president Raza Nizamuddin, district treasurer Anuj Tiwari and Hazaribag Nagar president Ravi Shankar.

At a press conference on Friday, Srivastava said: “We are upset with the comments made by Rana against Annapurna Devi after her exit. He said she had betrayed the party and this has hurt our feelings.”

On the other hand, the district Congress unit is apprehensive over the delay in announcement of the party nominee in Hazaribag as BJP and CPI has named Jayant Sinha and B P Mehta as their candidates.

“The delay in naming a mahagathbandhan candidate is sending a wrong signal among booth and grassroots-level party workers at a time when other parties have kicked off their poll campaigns,” said an official in the Congress district unit.