Patna: The differences between the RJD and Congress over their respective stakes in the elections to eight legislative council seats in the state escalated on Sunday with the RJD announcing party functionary Kunwar Rai as its candidate for the Darbhanga teacher constituency, represented by Congress MLC Madan Mohan Jha.With the latest development, the RJD and Congress are now set for direct contests in five of the eight legislative council seats.Earlier, the RJD had fielded candidates for six seats while leaving the Darbhanga teacher constituency for the Congress and the Tirhut teacher constituency for the CPI. With Rai now in the fray, the RJD is contesting seven of the eight council seats going to polls on Oct 23.The move is significant for the Congress as Jha is a former state Congress chief and the lone Congress MLC left in the legislative council.“Our party selected Rai for the Darbhanga teacher constituency after due deliberation for strategic reasons. The party’s national chief Lalu Prasad recommended his name on the advice of our working president Tejashwi Prasad Yadav,” former RJD spokesman Ejaj Ahmad told reporters, adding that party’s state chief Mangani Lal Mandal formally announced Rai’s name.“Rai has been the state president of the party’s teachers’ cell. He participated in the movement of the teachers and also worked to pursue their interests,” Ahmad said.Against this backdrop, all eight seats will witness a multi-cornered contest, with BJP and JD(U), the two major NDA partners in the fray, facing comparatively less internal tension. JD(U), however, appears to be dealing with infighting between Mokama MLA Anant Singh and Patna graduate seat candidate and sitting MLC Neeraj Kumar.Meanwhile, Congress’s Rajesh Rathorre, who has decided to contest the Tirhut teacher constituency as an Independent candidate, was removed from his post as the party’s media department head and spokesman in Bihar and replaced by Ajay Kumar Paswan.
