Pappu Yadav to contest from Purnea

Patna: Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav will contest the Lok Sabha election 2024 from the Purnea constituency in Bihar.

Ajay Jaiswal, the private secretary of Pappu Yadav, confirmed the development. He said that Pappu Yadav will file the nomination on April 2 at 10 a.m.

“Pappu Yadav will contest the election from Purnea Lok Sabha seat in Bihar. He will file his nomination as a publicly supported candidate for this seat. He also appealed to the people of Purnea to bless him with their support,” Jaiswal said.

This development comes a day after Pappu Yadav claimed that he is with the decision of the Congress party in Bihar. Pappu Yadav on Friday said that the Congress has taken the decision in the interest of Bihar and he is with the decision of the party.

“For me, the country comes first. Our leader Rahul Gandhi has formed the INDIA bloc with the motive to remove the current government and I am with the decision of the party,” Yadav said on Friday.

The Purnea seat has gone in the share of the RJD which has an old alliance with the Congress party. Seats for the Congress party were finalised in January this year.

“Congress has not announced candidates in several constituencies but the grand alliance is strong. My party has taken the decision to make the INDIA bloc strong in Bihar and I am with the party,” he further said.

Sources have said that Pappu Yadav changed his stand after the statement of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. Tejashwi Yadav, on Friday evening said that the matter of Pappu Yadav is related to Congress. He does not know any individual person.

Following the move of Pappu Yadav, the battle for Purnea will turn interesting here. As per the seat-sharing formula of the INDIA bloc, RJD is contesting 26 seats including Purnea. It had given the ticket to Bima Bharti before the seat-sharing formula was finalised.

Pappu Yadav was also expecting the ticket from Congress to contest in Purnea. He merged his party named Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) with Congress aiming to get a ticket for this seat.

The fresh stand of Pappu Yadav has given a big jolt to RJD and Congress as they were aiming for one-to-one fights with NDA. Now, a triangular fight is expected in Purnea.

IANS