Patna: BJP nominee Surya Kumar Sharma (also known as Arvind Sharma) filed his nomination papers on Thursday for the May 12 byelection to the Bihar legislative council. The seat was vacated by Mangal Pandey after his election to the Lok Sabha in November last year. Sharma filed his papers in the presence of Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, state BJP president Sanjay Saraogi, Deputy Chief Ministers Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav, along with other senior NDA leaders from the state.
Background of the Byelection
Earlier, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha's son, Deepak Prakash, was expected to be named the NDA nominee. However, RLM sources indicated that Deepak would instead contest for a full six-year term in the council election likely in June. Nine seats in the Bihar legislative council are set to fall vacant in June. Given the number of opposition MLAs, their unity could potentially secure them only one seat, while NDA candidates are poised to win the remaining eight.
BJP's Strategic Move
Sanjay Saraogi stated that the BJP central leadership chose Sharma, who has served the party in various organizational capacities. He was made the BJP headquarters incharge in Patna when Samrat Choudhary was the state party president. Political observers believe that by fielding Sharma, a Bhumihar by caste, the BJP aims to send two messages simultaneously: first, to promote dedicated leaders from within the organizational ranks; and second, to consolidate support from the Bhumihar community, which is reportedly upset over the sidelining of former deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha.
Sharma is set to win unopposed as he remains the sole candidate in this election. Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president Nitin Nabin, Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, and the national leadership of all NDA partners for nominating him, Sharma said, "I will strive to live up to the trust reposed in me and will always work to strengthen the party."
