Ex-minister withdraws Madhubani nomination

Patna: Former Union minister Mohammad Ali Ashraf Fatmi on Monday decided to withdraw his nominations from Madhubani seat.

Speaking on the issue, Mr Fatmi said that he had filed his nominations as a BSP candidate, but decided not to contest from the seat in order to stop splitting of votes in the constituency.

“My sole aim is to defeat the BJP. I took the decision to stop vote-split in the constituency. But I am still unhappy with the way my party treated me when I demanded ticket to contest from Madhubani seat,” Mr Fatmi said.

Mr Fatmi, once considered close to Lalu Yadav, had decided to quit the RJD and contest as BSP candidate after Tejashwi Yadav recently rejected his demands for a ticket from Madhubani seat.

“The RJD today dropped those who worked hard for the party and gave tickets to leaders who have conspired against Lalu Yadav,” Mr Fatmi said.

He claimed that veteran leader Sharad Yadav, contesting on an RJD ticket,  conspired to trap Lalu Yadav in the fodder scam case in 1997.

He said Sharad Yadav had met former CBI director Joginder Singh in 1997 and they discussed how to trap Lalu Yadav in the case.

“Somebody from Delhi had called me after the meeting and I immediately informed Lalu Yadav about the development. Lalu Yadav had nothing to do with the scam, but he became a victim of an internal conflict of the party,” he told this newspaper.

Adding further he said that, “I suggested Lalu Yadav to prepare his wife Rabri Devi for the CM’s post. He hesitated in the beginning but made her a chief minister before CBI arrested him in fodder scam case in 1997. Ram Kripal Yadav is a witness to all this because he was also present at Lalu Yadav’s residence when I gave him the information”.

Sources said Fatmi, a four-time MP, took the sudden decision to withdraw his candidature due to pressure from minority leaders in Bihar.  Reports suggest that minorities in Madhubani may extend support to Shakeel Ahmed who had also rebelled against Congress party and filed his nominations as an independent candidate from the seat.

“I have been with RJD for almost thirty years. I felt bad when Tejashwi Yadav didn’t acknowledge my commitment and behaved rudely with me when I asked for a ticket from Madhubani seat.” Mohammad Ashraf Ali Fatmi said.

When asked whether he will remain with the BSP or join some other political party he said, “I am not in a hurry at the moment. I will decide about my next move within a couple of days after discussing with my supporters but one thing is clear that I have said goodbye to the RJD”, Mr. Fatmi said.

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