New Delhi, January 17
The proposed revival of the Samata Party has further imperiled the position of loyalists of former Janata Dal (United) President George Fernandes. The pro-Sharad Yadav lobby in the JD(U) entrusted with identifying candidates for the forthcoming Assembly elections are using the opportunity afforded by State visits to remove candidates receptive to the ‘Samata’ idea.
Mr Anurag Kumar, president of the Uttarakhand unit of the JD(U), is likely to be divested of his charge by party general secretary in charge of Uttarakhand affairs, Arun Kumar Srivastava during his visit to Dehradun on Friday. By doing so, the JD(U) leadership will send out a loud and clear message to its members that joining the Samata party may be suicidal move.
Mr Srivastava told TNS here that he wants to remove Anurag Kumar for his
lethargy before elections. Kumar’s additional disqualification is his inclination to the Samata Party.
Interestingly, Anurag Kumar is expected to participate in the JD(U) convention at V.P. House here on Sunday along with Samata Party President Brahmanand Mandal and President of the Gujarat unit of the JD(U) Pravin Singh Jadeja. The convention aimed at garnering support for revival of the Sanata Party is expected to be addressed by Fernandes. Srivastava said that he would identify candidates for Assembly seats in Uttarakhand in consultation with party office bearers. He said that although a decision on the number of seats in Uttarakhand is yet to be taken but it may range between 10 and 15.
Mr Srivastava returned from Manipur on Monday after finalising the names of six candidates. These include former party MLA Sehpu Haokip for the Hemglep Assembly segment. Haokip is the President of the party unit in Manipur. Another young candidate whose name has been cleared for the Sekmai Assembly constitutency is Ibomcha Singh, General Secretary of the Manipur unit of the party.
The other four candidates whose names have been finalised from various Assembly segments in Manipur are Nodiachand Singh from Leikai, Lohrii from Tadubi, Lumgpujei from Kabui and Tombi Singh from Heirde.
Asked if he plans to remove candidates in Manipur who are inclined to go with the Samata party, Srivastava claimed that 90 per cent of the JD(U) members in Manipur today once belonged to the Samata but don’t plan to join it. Responding to the same question, JD(U) President Sharad Yadav claimed that none of the JD(U) members would join the Samata Party if it is revived.
