Citing anti-party activities, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) expelled three MLA’s from primary membership of the party for a period of six years on Sunday, 16 August.
RJD Principal General Secretary Alok Mehta announced that Maheshwar Prasad Yadav, Prema Choudhary, and Faraz Fatima, who were elected as MLAs from Gaighat constituency in Muzaffarpur, Patepur constituency in Vaishali and Keoti in Darbhanga, respectively, had been expelled on the directions of party supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, The Times of India reported.
“These leaders were found working against the interest of the party . Hence, disciplinary action was taken against them,” Mehta said.
Prema Choudhary had participated in a human chain on 19 January, on the occasion of the Jal-Jivan-Hariyali campaign. RJD had protested against the chain and expressed their displeasure to Choudhary, however, she said she was going to do what was needed for the people in her constituency.
She also said the campaign was aimed at conserving water, planting trees and fighting climate change.
Action against MLA Faraz Fatima was expected, after the son of the former Union minister Mohammad Ali Asharaf Fatima was seen in a ‘dahi-chura’ feast arranged by Janata Dal (U) state president Vashishtha Narayan Singh on 14 January. Faraz’s father, former MP of Darbhanga, had deserted RJD after his relations strained with Lalu’s younger son Tejaswi Yadav. Yadav had denied him a ticket to stand from Madhubani or Darbhanga during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The third MLA to face expulsion is Maheshwar Yadav who, according to The Times of India, has been an admirer of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. “He never missed an opportunity to praise Nitish,” an RJD leader told the daily on the condition of anonymity.
Sources also told the paper that it was highly likely all three will shift over to the JD (U).
(With inputs from The Times of India)
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