Amid speculations of rift with BJP, Nitish gives away JD(U) tickets

AMID INTENSE SPECULATIONS that the NDA seat-sharing deal has left him infuriated, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday gave away JD(U) tickets, bypassing the party’s earlier practice of announcing the names of candidates at a press conference.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

On the other hand, the BJP, which has been put on the same pedestal as the JD(U) for the first time in an assembly election, announced its first list of 71 candidates. Springing surprises, it denied a ticket to Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav, a seven-term MLA, while fielding Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary in a direct election after over a decade.

Health and Law Minister Mangal Pandey, a member of the legislative council, has also been fielded by the party for the assembly polls.

It was not immediately known howmany JD(U) candidates were given tickets during the day, as the CM's residence kept bustling with activity, with aspirants turning up after receiving a call from the party chief.

However, prominent among those who didare minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav, state JD(U) president Umesh Singh Kushwaha (Mahnar) and gangster-turned-politician Anant Kumar Singh (Mokama). Many of them also filed their nomination papers.