RJD to contest Kerala assembly polls as part of LDF: Tejashwi Yadav

Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) working president Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday said his party will contest the upcoming Kerala assembly polls as part of the ruling Left Democratic Front, which is locked in a contest with the Congress-led United Democratic Front.

The former Bihar deputy chief minister made the announcement after a meeting with legislators of the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, hours ahead of voting for five Rajya Sabha seats in the state, one of which is being contested by his party.

“In Kerala, our party will contest the assembly polls as part of the LDF. Our party has had a presence in the Kerala assembly in the past. We hope to help the LDF retain power in the state,” Yadav said.

The Congress and the CPI(M), the largest constituent of the Left Democratic Front (LDF), are rivals in Kerala but are allies in Bihar as part of the Mahagathbandhan.

The RJD has 25 MLAs in the 243-member Bihar assembly and is banking on the support of 10 legislators of other Mahagathbandhan partners, besides five of Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owais's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and one of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

All MLAs of the Mahagathbandhan, besides those of AIMIM and BSP, have been invited to spend the night at a hotel in Patna and are likely to leave for the assembly on Monday to cast their votes.

Six candidates, including RJD’s sitting MP Amarendra Dhari Singh, are in the fray for the five Rajya Sabha seats.

The remaining five candidates are from the ruling National Democratic Alliance and include Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who heads the Janata Dal (United), and sitting MLA Nitin Nabin, who recently became the BJP’s national president.

Meanwhile, rumours spread that four of the six MLAs of the Congress, had gone "missing", triggering fears of cross-voting. However, former state Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh, who had visited the hotel to take stock of preparations for the Rajya Sabha polls, allayed the fears.

He said, "All four MLAs are at my residence. There is no problem in the Mahagathbandhan, which is all set to win the Rajya Sabha seat. The NDA should worry about itself. We have learnt that 20 of their MLAs are traceless".