Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Ajay Nishad, a two-time MP from Muzaffarpur, Bihar, tendered his resignation from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and officially joined the Congress on Tuesday. Nishad’s decision to switch parties followed the BJP’s announcement of Raj Bhushan Nishad as its candidate from Muzaffarpur in the fifth list, despite Ajay Nishad’s previous victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls by a substantial margin of over 4 lakh 10 thousand votes.
Expressing his commitment to the Congress after joining the party, Nishad stated, “I have always worked in accordance with the party’s directives. The BJP mentioned that the survey results were unfavorable for me. However, I am prepared to contest elections as determined by the Congress party leaders.”
In his resignation letter from the BJP, Ajay Nishad conveyed his dismay over what he perceived as the party’s betrayal. He posted on X, addressing BJP’s national president J.P. Nadda, “Respected @JPNadda ji, shocked by the betrayal of @BJP4India, I resign from all posts and primary membership of the party.”
In Bihar, the BJP has nominated several candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, including Union ministers RK Singh, Nityanand Rai, and Giriraj Singh, along with former Union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Radha Mohan Singh, and Ram Kripal Yadav.
Bihar is set to conduct polling for its 40 Lok Sabha seats across all seven phases of the election. Each phase will witness voting on a varying number of seats, with Phase 1 covering four seats and Phases 6 and 7 covering eight seats each.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the NDA alliance, comprising the BJP, JDU, and LJP, secured victories on 39 out of 40 seats in Bihar. In contrast, the Mahagathbandhan alliance, led by RJD, INC, and RLSP, managed to secure only one seat.