'BJP forced 3 candidates to withdraw from Bihar polls'

Poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor Tuesday alleged that three candidates of his Jan Suraaj Party were forced to withdraw from the Bihar elections under “pressure” from the BJP.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Addressing a press conference, Kishor alleged that the ruling NDA was so scared of losing the elections that it was threatening Opposition candidates to withdraw from the race.

“Democracy is being murdered. There has been no such precedent in the country,” he alleged, urging the Election Commission to ensure the security of the candidates.

The candidates who were forced to withdraw were fielded in the Danapur, Brahampur, and Gopalganj seats, he said.

Kishor said Jan Suraaj's Brahampur candidate Satyaprakash Tiwari, who runs a clinic in Patna, was actively campaigning till Sunday, but surprisingly withdrew his nomination Monday morning.

Showing a photo of Tiwari with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is the BJP election-in-charge for Bihar, he claimed that it was taken a day before the deadline for withdrawal of nomination papers.