PATNA: After putting its candidate in Assam in the northeast, Bihar’s main opposition party RJD has decided to expand its footprints in Kerala, located in the extreme southwest part of the country.
Lalu Prasad’s party has fielded its candidates from two assembly seats, Kundara in the Kollam district and Ranni in Pathanamthitta district.
Party’s both candidates Vinod Bahuleyan and Joemon Joseph have already fielded their nomination papers from Kundara and Ranni constituencies, respectively.
“It is for the first time that the RJD is contesting election on its own symbol in Kerala. Earlier, the RJD used to extend support to independent candidates in this state,” RJD’s Kerala state president Anu Chacko told TOI over the phone from Kochi on Saturday.
Lalu Prasad-led party has also decided to go solo in Kerala assembly polls after the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) declined to accommodate it in the eight-party opposition’s front in the southwest state.
“Our leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav spoke to the Congress general secretary KC Venugopal and urged him to leave a few assembly seats for the RJD and also make our party an ally of the Congress-led UDF in Kerala. But things could not go in our favour and the RJD decided to go solo in the coastal state,” Chacko, who has been leading the RJD in Kerala for many years, said.
Chacko is also the RJD’s national secretary.
To a question, Chacko said Tejashwi Yadav might visit Kerala in the first week of April to campaign in favour of the RJD’s candidates.
“I will make a request to Tejashwi Ji to come to Kerala either on April 2 or 3 to address election rallies in Kundara and Ranni assembly seats,” Chacko said adding election campaigning in Kerala would come to end in the evening of April 4.
Kerala goes to polling in a single phase on April 6.