Bihar Polls: JD(U) changes candidate from Minapur constituency after its nominee returned party ticket

PATNA: Ruling JD(U) on Saturday changed its candidate from Muzaffarpur district’s Minapur seat after its previous nominee Manoj Kumar Kushwaha returned the party ticket, alleging non-cooperation by the local NDA workers.
Now Manoj Kumar, the former state president of the JD(U)’s farmer cell, will be the party candidate from Minapur, instead of Manoj Kushwaha who is the former MLA from Muzaffarpur district’s Kurhani seat.
Acting at the directive of the JD(U) president and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, the party’s senior leader Lalan Sarraf on Saturday provided the party’s ticket to the farmer cell’s Manoj Kumar at the CM’s residence in Patna and asked him to file nomination from Minapur seat.
Minapur constituency is going to the polls in the second phase on November 3. October 16 is the last date for filing nomination papers.
Earlier in the morning, lady luck smiled on Manoj when he, unaware of his selection as the alternative candidate, was working in his farmland at his native village Mustafaganj in Minapur area. “Around 8.30 am when I was working in my village field, I received a phone call from a senior JD(U) leader. I was asked to rush to Patna for some urgent party work. Even then, I was not told about the party ticket. When I was on my way to Patna, I began receiving phone calls from some party workers that Kushwaha was going to return his ticket and my name was being considered as an alternative candidate,” Manoj told TOI over phone soon after coming out of the CM residence after getting the party ticket on Saturday evening.
“Though I had initially applied for the party ticket from Minapur, I forgot all those things after the candidates for all seats were finalized by the JD(U) three days back. I had not thought of getting the ticket,” Manoj said.
Earlier in the day, Kushwaha, a three-time MLA from Kurhani seat, returned the party ticket to senior JD(U) leaders after his candidature was fiercely opposed by the NDA workers of Minapur on the plea that Kushwaha is an outsider.
“In fact, I had asked for the JD(U) ticket from my traditional Kurhani seat, but the party leadership asked me to contest from Minapur and I was allotted a ticket three days back. When I reached Minapur and began interacting with the workers of the JD(U) and ally BJP, I found a lack of cooperation among the workers. There was also a lack of unity among the JD(U) and BJP workers. Hence, I decided to return the JD(U) ticket,” Kushwaha told reporters on Saturday.
Asked about his future-plan, Kushwaha said he would now return to Kurhani and take advice from his supporters. “Will take any decision only after consulting my workers in Kurhani constituency,” he said.
JD(U) state working President Ashok Choudhary told TOI that the party symbol for Minapur seat was given to an incorrect person having the same name, because of the mistake committed by the office staff. Now, the error had been rectified and the right person had been given the ticket. “Both the party leaders have the same name, and both belong to the same community. Instead of inviting Manoj of farmers’ cell, the office staff by mistake made a call to the former MLA Manoj Kushwaha and invited him for the party ticket,” Choudhary told TOI.