In an upheaval within the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), 22 party leaders have tendered their resignations simultaneously while expressing anger at not getting tickets for the Lok Sabha elections.
Among the notable figures who stepped down include former minister Renu Kushwaha, former MLA and national general secretary of LJP, Satish Kumar, state organisation minister Ravindra Singh, Ajay Kushwaha, Sanjay Singh and State General Secretary Rajesh Dangi.
The resignation wave appears to stem from grievances within the party ranks, with allegations surfacing about the distribution of tickets in exchange for money.
On her resignation from the party, former MP Renu Kushwaha said, "Ticket should be given to the party workers instead of people the from outside. Tickets were given to the outsiders which means that able people are not there in your party. Are we the labour class people in your party who will work for you, make you a leader? Our devotion was questioned when an outsider was given a ticket. We are not here to serve as labourers for the party."
Miffed over not getting the ticket, former MLA and national general secretary of LJP Satish Kumar asserted that the rebel LJP leaders will now support the INDIA bloc.
"When such important elections are there in the country, the LJP Supremo has given tickets to such people that the party workers are stunned. The people who used to raise slogans 'Hail Chirag Paswan', day and night and hoped for a 'new Bihar' have been betrayed, their aspirations were crushed. Now, to save the country, INDI alliance has to be supported. Now we will support the INDI alliance,"
The party's Organisation Secretary Ravindra Singh claimed that Chirag Paswan "sold the tickets". "Chirag Paswan has played an emotional game with the people of Bihar. When he got five seats due to our hard work, he sold all those tickets. People of Bihar will give him an answer," he said.
The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is contesting five out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar - Vaishali, Hajipur, Samastipur, Khagaria and Jamui.
Bihar will see polling in seven phases. The first phase will be held on April 19, the second phase on April 26, the third on May 7, fourth on May 13, fifth on May 20, sixth on May 25, and seventh on June 1.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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