Prominent BJP rebel quits LJP

He has always been withthe BJP, He was never considered an insider in the LJP.Had he stayed, we would have worked together.

Chirag Paswan-led LJP received a majorsetback on Wednesday with the sudden exit of a high-profileBJP rebel who had joined the party ahead of the recentassembly polls in Bihar.

Rameshwar Chaurasiya, a multiple term BJP MLA from Nokha,quit the saffron party after the seat which he had lost in2015 to RJD, went to Chief Minister Nitish Kumars JD(U).

The LJP, which had pulled out of the NDA vowing todislodge Kumar from power, welcomed Chaurasiya into its fold.

The party had by then decided another candidate from Nokhaand, hence, Chaurasiya was accommodated in the adjacentSasaram where he finished third and ended up forfeiting hisdeposit.

He, however, had caused damage to the JD(U) whosecandidate Ashok Kumar lost to Rajesh Kumar Gupta of the RJDon Sasaram seat.

In his handwritten letter, screenshots of which have goneviral on the social media, Chaurasiya thanked Chirag Paswanfor having chosen him as the party candidate in the assemblyelections but expressed his inability to continue working forthe LJP.

''Therefore I request you to treat this letter as myresignation from the primary membership of LJP'', saidChaurasiya, a JNU alumnus in the letter composed in flawlessEnglish.

The LJP sought to take the development on the chin and itsspokesman Ashraf Ansari issued the terse statement ''RameshwarChaurasiya has never been an LJP man. He has always been withthe BJP, He was never considered an insider in the LJP.

''Had he stayed, we would have worked together. Butbecause of his own ambitions he has parted ways''.

Notably, Chaurasiya and a host of other BJP rebels hadbeen expelled from the party by state president Sanjay Jaiswalafter they entered the fray on an LJP candidate, mostlyagainst candidates of the JD(U).

The LJPs poll strategy caused the JD(U)s tally todecline sharply.

However, the party founded by late Union minister RamVilas Paswan itself came a cropper winning only one seatdespite having contested more than 140.

While the future course adopted by Chaurasiya remains tobe seen, a BJP leader said on condition of anonymity ''he hasbeen our senior leader who has held importantresponsibilities.

''He was the co-in charge for Uttar Pradesh in the 2014Lok Sabha polls when he worked closely with Amit Shah, then anational general secretary. BJP is, indeed, his home''.

Meanwhile, sources in the JD(U) said that many statelevel Lok Janshakti Party leaders are all set to join theruling party here on Thursday.