As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies jockey over seat-sharing for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, speculation is swirling in NDA circles that Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi might replace BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha in the Patna Sahib parliamentary seat.
Sinha, in all likelihood, will not get the party ticket following his anti-party stand over several issues, said BJP officials aware of developments.
“There is no smoke without fire,” said a senior BJP leader on the condition of anonymity, when asked about the possibility of Modi contesting from Patna Sahib. Modi had been an MP from Bhagalpur from 2004 before becoming the deputy chief minister in the Nitish Kumar-led NDA ministry in 2005.
Modi, however, feigned ignorance about any such possibility. “It’s too early for such type of decisions,” he said.
The BJP officials said a hunt is definitely on for a “suitable candidate” from Patna Sahib as well as from several other constituencies. “It all depends on seat adjustments,” one of the officials said.
Sinha, a Bollywood actor-turned-politician, has virtually turned into a BJP rebel, lashing out at his own party leaders on national and state issues, often from public platforms.
He has also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on issues like rising fuel prices, Rafale deal and the Vijay Mallya case.
In June this year, he had slammed the PM and his policies at a party event in Sukulpur on the outskirts of Patna.
Sinha had also announced his intention to contest again from Patna Sahib in 2019, but not specified if he will join any other party. “The BJP did not give me a ticket; I took it on my own. And I will contest from Patna Sahib again,” he told party workers at the meet. “The location (constituency) will be the same, even if the situation is otherwise,” he had said.
Sinha has been cosying up to opposition parties such as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress but has yet to disclose which one he might team up with in 2019. He has praised RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, calling him a “very mature leader”.
“It is a proud moment for me and our family friend Lalu Prasad, to watch Tejashwi taking on the question with confidence, ease & with great conviction. Is he the Arjun aiming the fish’s eye?” Sinha tweeted recently.
Yadav reciprocated the gesture at an iftar party last month. “Chacha (Shatrughan Sinha) is with us,” he said, fuelling speculation that Sinha could be the RJD candidate for the Patna Sahib seat in 2019.
The two-time Lok Sabha MP has also openly praised Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.
First Published: Sep 21, 2018 23:01 IST
Source: HindustanTimes