Dynasty Watch

With their chief minister as a shining example, many important political leaders in Bihar have secured nominations for their relatives in...

With their chief minister as a shining example, many important political leaders in Bihar have secured nominations for their relatives in the coming Lok Sabha polls. Though a complete scenario will emerge after the nomination process for the third and final phase is completed by early next week, preliminary reports show no party has shied away from the phenomenon.

The ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal RJD has fielded Naina Rana, wife of RJD legislator R.K. Rana from Khagaria. Party president and former chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav8217;s nephew Nagendra Rai, meanwhile, is contesting as an Independent from Patna after he was denied the party ticket.

The Bihar People8217;s Party BPP has gone for former Lok Sabha member Anand Mohan and his wife Lovely Anand a sitting MLA in Sheohar and Vaishali, respectively. Incidentally, these are the only two seats the BPP has been allotted in the Janata Dal United quota under an electoral alliance with the BJP.

Other relatives too figure in the JDU list. Like seniorparty leader and former Union railway minister Ram Vilas Paswan8217;s younger brother, Ramchandra Paswan. The latter has been nominated by the party from Rosera a reserved constituency.

The BJP isn8217;t lagging behind. If it has fielded former chief minister Bhagwat Jha Azad8217;s son Kirti Azad from Darbhanga, the party8217;s Abha Mahato a sitting MP will seek re-election from Jamshedpur in south Bihar. She is the wife of party leader Shailendra Mahato, who was earlier with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Soren.

JMMS supremo Shibu Soren seems to have got over that loss by adding own wife, Rupi Soren, to candidate ranks. She has been nominated from Dumka in Jharkhand region against the BJP8217;s Babu Lal Marandi, the Union Minister of State for Forest and Environment.

The list of stalwart relatives goes on. The Congress8217;s candidate for Aurangabad is Shyama Singh, the daughter-in-law of ex-chief minister Satyendra Narayan Singh and the daughter of former MP Madhuri Singh. While the CPI has nominated Ramendra Kumar, sonof senior leader Yogendra Sharma, from Hazaribagh to take on Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha.