PATNA, April 29: The nomination of Shailendra Mahato, accused in the JMM payoff case, to the BJP's National Council has come as a surprise in party circles as Mahato is not a primary member of the party. According to the BJP constitution, only an active member is entitled to be nominated to the august Council.Following the exposure of the JMM payoff scam, Mahato had joined the BJP for a brief period in the presence of then Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Atal Behari Vajpayee. But this honeymoon proved to be a short affair and within a couple of months he left the party. Senior BJP leaders like Govindacharya and others were in constant touch with him. In the recently held Lok Sabha elections, his wife Abha Mahato, was given the party ticket from Jamshedpur. A senior leader confided that it was in December last year that the party leaders entered into an agreement with Mahato to nominate him to the National Council as well as to give a ticket to his wife.Mahato's re-entry into the BJP is seen byobservers as a move to consolidate the party's support-base among the politically conscious Kurmi Mahato's who constitute 20 per cent of the total 25 lakh electorate in Ranchi, Hazaribagh and Jamshedpur Lok Sabha constituencies.Party sources say that in December 1997, state chief Yashwant Sinha was authorised by the State Council to nominate members to the National Council. There are 54 National Council members from Bihar. It was during the nomination of the members that Mahato's name was inducted in the list. But the leadership preferred to keep it a secret. Even powerful leader Kailashpati Mishra was kept in the dark. However, for Mahato it has been a happy development.When contacted at his Jamshedpur residence, Mahato confirmed that he was going to Gandhinagar to participate in the meeting on May 3-4.Mahato clarified that he received the letter from Nand Kishore Yadav, general secretary of the state committee, only a couple of days back.``Earlier I had announced that unless I am cleared of thecharges, I will not join any party. Now the Supreme Court has exonerated me along with others. There is no harm in accepting the offer.''Mahato said the membership is to continue for 10 years.
