Two JD-U women legislators campaign for BJP, RJD

Patna, March 29 (IANS) Two women legislators from Bihar's ruling JD-U, one of them a former minister, are campaigning and seeking votes for the BJP and RJD candidates against the official party candidates.

The two legislators are Renu Kumari Kushwaha and Poonam Yadav.

Kushwaha, who resigned from the state cabinet of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar early this month, is still a Janata Dal-United (JD-U) legislator from Bihariganj assembly constituency.

However, she is openly campaigning and seeking votes for her husband Vijay Kumar Kushwaha, whom the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has pitted from Madhepura constituency for the Lok Sabha polls.

"It is true that I am seeking vote for my husband, who is contesting as BJP candidate from Madhepura. After all, he happens to be my husband," Kushwaha said.

She is also attending meetings of the BJP and its allies, including the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party in connection with the ongoing campaigning for her husband.

According to JD-U leaders, Nitish Kumar tried to persuade her when she resigned, but she told him that as her husband has joined the BJP, she has no moral authority to continue as minister in Nitish's cabinet.

The second legislator, Poonam, wife of criminal-turned-politician Ranvir Yadav, is campaigning and seeking vote for her younger sister Krishna Yadav, who is the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate from Khagaria.

Interestingly, Krishna is the second wife of Ranvir, a "bahubali". Ranvir said Poonam has been campaigning for Krishna. "For her, family is first than the party," he said.

However, JD-U state president Vashsisht Narain Singh said he has no information that two of his party legislators are seeking votes for rival candidates.

Last year, the JD-U ended its 17-year-old alliance with the BJP and both are now contesting the general elections against each other after 1996.

The JD-U and the RJD are traditional rivals in caste-ridden Bihar politics.