Patna,(BiharTimes): RJD on Sunday decided to field the three sitting MLCs even as the party disowned its general secretary and jailed gangster, Ritlal Yadav, who on Friday defied the party line and filed nomination papers as an independent candidate for Bihar legislative council’s Patna local authority seat.

Releasing the list of 10 candidates, state RJD president Ram Chandra Purbey said the party has decided to retain its three sitting MLCs: Mishri Lal Yadav (Darbhanga seat), Roma Bharti (Samastipur) and Sanjay Prasad (Munger-Jamui-Lakhisarai-Sheikhpura seat).

The other seven candidates are former MLC Kalawati Devi from East Champaran constituency, Dilip Rai from Sitamarhi-Sheohar, Vinod Kumar from Siwan, Subodh Kumar from Vaishali, Vinay Prasad from Aurangabad, Mahanth Satyadev Das from Gopalganj and Radha Charan Sah from Bhojpur-Buxar.

The state RJD chief said Vinay Prasad and Radha Charan had also contested the 2009 council election from Aurangabad and Bhojpur-Buxar seats, respectively, and lost the elections by small margins. Vinay, who contested the last elections as an Independent candidate, was defeated by a margin of only 95 votes by Ranjan Kumar Singh alias Munna Singh.

On the other hand while commenting on Ritlal the state RJD chief said that his party has nothing to do with his nomination as an Independent. He has gone beyond the party’s decision so the RJD is not concerned about such people.

Ritlal was made the general secretary of the RJD just after he decided to contest the last Lok Sabha election as an Independent candidate from Pataliputra constituency against Misa Bharati. Lalu feared that his presence would facilitiate Ram Kripal Yadav, the BJP candidate, and many in the RJD then alleged that it was at the latter’s behest that he wanted to throw his hat in the ring.

During the campaign for daughter, Lalu even went to Ritlal’s village and among others met his father, a mukhiya.

Though Ritlal did not contest yet Misa lost to Ram Kripal.
Lalu was strongly criticized for making a compromise with a murder accused.