'I am Congress soldier': Purnea's Independent candidate Pappu Yadav
Purnea Lok Sabha seat, former MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav asserted that he still considers himself «a soldier of the Congress» and will remain with the party till his last breath. According to a seat-sharing arrangement agreed upon by the opposition INDIA bloc constituents in the state, the RJD nominated JD(U) turncoat Bima Bharti from Purnea, denying the seat to the Congress.
Yadav, who recently joined the grand old party, blamed RJD president Lalu Prasad for the apparent cracks in the opposition bloc in Purnea.
«I am a soldier of the Congress and its leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. I will remain (ideologically) with the party till my last breath. The ideology of the Congress is in my blood. I had never wanted a situation to emerge in Purnea where the INDIA bloc's constituents could be seen fighting each other, like in West Bengal and Kerala,» Yadav said in an interview with PTI.
Notably, the state Congress has been requesting the five-time former MP to withdraw his nomination in view of the seat-sharing formula, but Pappu Yadav, who had won the Purnea seat thrice as an Independent in the 1990s, did not lend an ear to the party's advice.
«This time I was offered two Lok Sabha seats — Madhepura and Supaul-by the RJD supremo but not the Purnea constituency. That was not acceptable at all...I just can't compromise with my identity and ideology. Purnea is my 'Karmbhoomi, and I will never leave it till my last breath. I will work hard to fight against corruption and develop the Seemanchal and Kosi
