Aneel Hegde is JD(U) candidate for Bihar RS bypoll

PATNA: JD(U) on Monday fielded its national returning officer Aneel Hegde (61) as its candidate for the bye-election to one vacant seat of Rajya Sabha from Bihar.
The bye-election, scheduled to be held on May 30, was necessitated after the demise of JD(U)’s seven-time Rajya Sabha member Mahendra Prasad alias King Mahendra on December 27 last year.
Born in a humble farmer’s family in Udupi district of Karnataka, Hegde has been active in politics for the last 38 years. He was earlier associated with former Karnataka CM Ram Krishna Hegde, later he closely worked with veteran socialist leader and former Union minister George Fernandes and former prime minister Chandrashekhar. He remained closely associated with Fernandes from 1994 to 2008.
Sources in the JD(U) said when there were some differences between former JD(U) President Sharad Yadav and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar over ideological and organizational issues, Aneel took the side of Nitish. A devoted party worker since the era of Samata Party, Aneel has been staying at the JD(U) state office in Patna for the last 12 years.
Aneel has for long been the JD(U)’s national returning officer, responsible for holding the elections of the party’s national president and other national office-bearers. Nitish was first elected the JD(U) national president in 2016 under the supervision of Aneel.
As the opposition parties are not willing to put up their candidate for the bye-election, Aneel may enter the Rajya Sabha without any contest.
“May 19 is the last date for filing nomination for the bye-election. If no candidate (either Independent or nominee of any political party) turn up to file nomination in the by-election till May 19, Aneel would be declared elected unopposed on May 23, the last date for withdrawal of candidature,” an Bihar Vidhan Sabha official associated with the bye-election, told TOI on Monday.