Patna: Bihar's biennial Legislative Council elections, due on Friday across eight seats, have turned into an open fight inside the ruling JD(U). MLA Anant Kumar Singh, from Mokama, has rebelled against his own party's candidate, Neeraj Kumar, and is backing a Jan Suraj nominee instead.
Neeraj Kumar, a former minister seeking a fourth term from the Patna graduates' constituency, was admitted to a Patna hospital after he was taken ill late on Monday. On Tuesday, Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary visited him, accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and BJP state president Sanjay Saraogi.
Anant Singh's response was blunt. "He is neither ill nor has fever... it is his drama," he told reporters, adding that he had "seen his drama for 18 years." On Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) veteran and former chief minister, Anant Singh said: "Nitish Kumar is not on my side and not on his side... he is on no one's side."
Anant Singh has alleged that Neeraj Kumar worked against him in last year's assembly election. He has thrown his weight behind Anuj Singh of Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraj Party.
Prashant Kishor has also targeted the NDA, claiming the BJP and JD(U) lack coordination and are struggling to win the eight seats. "The NDA's political ground has slipped after Nitish Kumar's departure," he said, appealing to voters to back Jan Suraj candidates.
Both Anant Singh and Neeraj Kumar belong to the JD(U). The rebellion, days before voting, leaves the party managing a candidate in hospital and a legislator campaigning against him.
Voting for the eight council seats is on Friday, and seat arithmetic among the JD(U), the BJP and other allies has become central. With Neeraj Kumar's health pausing his campaign and Anant Singh in open revolt, the party faces a twin problem. Neither leader has shown signs of a compromise.