A lady schoolteacher in Bihar is suddenly set to enter politics as a candidate of the state’s ruling JD(U) in an Assembly bypoll as the party offered her the ticket after finding her father-in-law, earlier set to be fielded, having a pending criminal charge.
Even as Manju Devi, a teacher at a government primary school, could not contain her shyness in front of a large gathering of JD(U) leaders at the party’s state headquarters in Patna, hundreds of JD(U) workers protested outside against her nomination for the byelection for the reserved Kalyanpur Assembly seat in Samastipur district.
The JD(U) had earlier decided to field Ram Vilas Ram, Devi’s father-in-law who had joined the party in 2010 after retiring as block agriculture officer. Mr Ram’s selection itself had evoked strong resentment among JD(U) workers as he was little known in the area and had little connection with the public and political issues. Besides, several prominent local JD(U) leaders were expecting a party ticket to contest the polls necessitated by the death of sitting JD(U) MLA Ram Sevak Hazari.
In fact, the JD(U) leadership had zeroed in on Mr Ram after the family of Maheshwar Hazari, the JD(U)’s sitting MP from Samastipur, displayed differences as to who in the family should get the ticket. While Mr Hazari reportedly sought a party ticket for his wife, Sandhya Hazari, his mother lobbied for her elder son Kameshwar Hazari, husband of Rosera MLA Manju Hazari.
JD(U) sources said Mr Ram’s daughter-in-law was nominated after it was discovered that Mr Ram has a criminal case for financial mismanagement pending against him.