NEW DELHI, 28 March 2004 — The Janata Dal-United which issued its first list of candidates for the coming Lok sabha polls has asked Defense Minister and NDA Convener George Fernandes, to move to Muzaffarpur from Nalanda in Bihar, amid speculation that Railway Minister Nitish Kumar might change his seat from Barh to Nalanda in the state. The chairman of the parliamentary party and Food Minister Sharad Yadav will take on RJD supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav from Madhepura in Bihar.
JD-U President Fernandes had won the Muzaffarpur seat in 1977, 1980, 1989 and 1991. He switched over to Nalanda and represented the constituency in the 11th, 12th and 13th Lok Sabha on the Samata Party ticket.
In the last election, the Muzaffarpur seat was won by Jainarain Nishad when he was part of the Janata parivar. He recently joined the BJP and had staked claim to the seat as a sitting MP. The JD-U, however, retained the seat on the condition that a “senior leader’’ contest it. No name was announced for either Barh or Nalanda in the first list of candidates announced by the JD-U. Names have also been withheld for Rosera (reserved) and Hajipur in Bihar. Sources said the party would give up its claim on the Sheohar seat in Bihar as it could not reach an understanding with its alliance partner, the BJP, on it. It will also go it alone in Jharkhand and is preparing to contest at least four seats there
A party spokesman said that in the first phase 19 names had been announced for Bihar, two for Uttar Pradesh, one each for Karnataka, Rajasthan, Assam, Manipur, and Lakshadweep. The party retained 11 sitting members of Parliament, four of whom are ministers from Bihar, and dropped two. Renu Kumari, MP from Khagaria in Bihar is the only woman candidate in the list.
Two new entrants to the party have been accommodated in Bihar. These include Jagannath Mishra, who will contest from Jhanjarpur, and Ajit Kumar Singh who has been given ticket from Vikramganj.
