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Patna: Delay by political parties in
declaring their list of candidates for the upcoming Bihar assembly
elections is giving sleepless nights to thousands of ticket
aspirants, who are stressed and fed up of waiting for the top
bosses to take a decision.
With just two days to go for filing of nomination papers for the
first of the six-phase elections, aspirants are worried and
restless as they camp in the state capital and some even in New
Delhi to impress top party leaders.
Over 30,000 aspirants have submitted their bio datas to political
parties - mostly directly to party chiefs - to contest the
October-November elections to the 243-member legislative assembly.
The maximum number seems to be interested in the Congress,
followed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) and Janata Dal-United (JD-U).
Hundreds of aspirants are still roaming from one place to another
in search of assurances and hoping against hope for tickets to
contest the Oct 21 to Nov 20 elections.
"Delay to declare the list of candidates has added more stress
among aspirants. But I am hopeful," Pradeep Kumar Sharma, an
aspirant of Congress ticket to contest from Arwal constituency,
told IANS.
Like Sharma, Feroz Mansuri, a hopeful for RJD ticket to contest
from Chatapur constituency, voiced unhappiness over the delay.
"I am camping in Patna instead of Chatapur to ensure a ticket. I
know I am wasting time that I would have spent in my
constituency," Feroz, a youth leader of Dalit Muslims, said.
More or less similar views were expressed by aspirants of the
ruling JD-U and BJP tickets.
"I was assured by top JD-U leaders that I will get a ticket. But I
can not be sure till my name figures in the final list. It is
making me tense," Santosh Mandal said.
An aspirant of BJP ticket said he had visited New Delhi thrice to
impress top party leaders and was making all efforts in Patna to
ensure his name is in the list of candidates.
"Delay is a bad thing for people like us who have spent days for
it. I am fed up," he said.
The JD-U and BJP are yet to finalise the seat-sharing criteria
despite increasing
pressure of aspirants to declare list of candidates, a party
leader said.
A senior BJP leader admitted that the delay was due to the fact
that seats are not yet finalised. "How can we announce the list of
candidates," he said.
Sources in JD-U and BJP said some hitches remain over a dozen of
seats to which both alliance partners have staked their claim.
"But everything will be solved within two days," a JD-U leader
said.
The JD-U would contest 140 assembly seats and its ally BJP 103.
Currently, the JD-U has 81 sitting legislators and the BJP 54.
The JD-U contested 138 seats in the last assembly polls in 2005,
leaving 103 for the BJP. The two parties had friendly contest on
two seats.
The Congress list of candidates was expected by Sep 20 but now by
all indications it will be declared by Sep 25.
Party sources said the screening committee for Bihar was yet to
finalise its recommendations for 103 seats that will go to the
polls in the last three phases.
The recommendations will be sent to the Congress' Central Election
Committee (CEC), headed by party chief Sonia Gandhi, for final
clearance.
Party sources said the CEC finalised candidates for the first
three phases of polls and kept its decision pending on about 35
seats as more discussions were required.
The RJD and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) have reportedly delayed the
declaration of their lists in the wake of the likely political
impact of the Ayodhya verdict.
There are speculations in political circles that the verdict may
force Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to snap ties with the BJP to
save his secular image in case of any surprise development.
The parties are expected to release their first lists of
candidates by Sep 27, when nomination for the first phase of
election starts.
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