Patna: Congress leader and former Union Minister Shakeel Ahmad on Monday said he will contest the Lok Sabha elections as an Independent candidate from Bihar’s Madhubani seat.
Ahmad, who was unhappy after his traditional seat of Madhubani went to ally VIP under a seat-sharing formula of the Grand Alliance, said he will file his nomination papers on Tuesday.
“As I have decided to file my nomination papers tomorrow from Madhubani Parliamentary Constituency in Bihar, I’m resigning from the post of Senior Spokesperson of AICC. I’m sending my resignation to Congress President Rahul Gandhi,” Ahmad tweeted.
“I have demanded the support of the party. If the party high command does not extend support, I will contest as an Independent,” Ahmad had told the media earlier at his residence in Madhubani.
As I have decided to file my nomination papers tomorrow from Madhubani Parliamentary Constituency in Bihar, I’m resigning from the post of Senior Spokesperson of AICC. I’m sending my resignation to Congress President Shri @RahulGandhi .
— Shakeel Ahmad (@Ahmad_Shakeel) April 15, 2019
Ahmad had pointed out that a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supported candidate was contesting against Congress candidate Ranjit Ranjan in Supaul. “If RJD can support a candidate against an official Congress candidate, then why can’t the Congress do the same in Madhubani?” Ahmad said that the Grand Alliance candidate in Madhubani cannot defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate in Madhubani.
Ranjan is the Congress sitting MP from Supaul.
Ashok Yadav, son of BJP MP Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav, is the BJP candidate in Madhubani.
As per the seat sharing formula of the Grand Alliance, the Congress is contesting nine of 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, the RJD on 19 and remaining seats have been given to allies RLSP, HAM and VIP.
With inputs from IANS
