Patna:
The BJP's battle for Bihar just got murkier with the party's own lawmaker and former Home Secretary RK Singh alleging that money has changed hands for tickets.
"They are giving tickets to criminals. How will they give a clean government? This is injustice to the people of Bihar. Some people have sold tickets to criminals. Many BJP workers are angry over seat distribution," Mr Singh said in Patna today. "When the tickets were distributed, I called Sushil Kumar Modi, but he did not receive my call," he added.
Rejecting the charge, senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Modi said, "Sometimes leaders press for their supporters to be given tickets. But all wishes cannot be accommodated." "I get so many calls during election. It is not possible to answer all," he added.
Pawan Verma of the JD(U) however alleged that Mr Singh "has the courage to speak the bitter truth." "The allegations made by RK Singh are grave. It has been revealed by their leader," he said.
Several sitting MLAs who were denied tickets have alleged that tickets were given not on the basis of merit but "on monetary grounds."
The BJP and the Janata Dal United had parted ways in 2013 after Narendra Modi was named the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate for last year's national elections.
Ties between the two parties have been bitter since. The JDU is part of the alliance to which a BJP-led coalition is seen as the biggest challenger.