The contentious fight for control of party affairs in Janata Dal (United) between Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav is back again with the Election Commission (EC) granting opportunity for a fresh hearing to the Sharad camp and the latter planning a parallel national council in New Delhi on October 8.
JD(U) general secretary KC Tyagi, a close aide of Nitish Kumar, however, rejected such attempts saying, "EC requires proof of the numerical strength and not of speeches. What the Sharad camp is submitting before the Rajya Sabha Chairman or the EC is ideological positioning, not the evidences of the numerical strength they have in the party."'
After charting out a different path from party chief Nitish Kumar on the issue of junking the grand alliance and forming a government with the BJP last month, Yadav's camp had filed an application before the poll panel on August 25, seeking an order from the EC to recognise their faction as the true JD(U).
However, the EC disposed the petition on September 12 without taking cognisance of it on the grounds that it was not supported with the required documents and was not signed.
Expressing annoyance, the Sharad faction wrote a hard-hitting reply to the EC on September 14 saying it was 'strange' that the poll panel disposed it on 'hyper technical ground' without giving them the opportuntiy to adduce neccessary documentation in favour of their claim. Citing previous cass of 'dispute' in party, they sought an oral hearing from the Commission.
Now the poll panel in its latest order on September 27 allowed a fresh hearing to Sharad camp saying, "it would be open to you to file fresh application along with the documentary evidence in support of the claim that may be made in such application. We will be submitting the fresh application very soon."
BATTLEGROUND
- Nitish faction says all MLAs and MLCs of the party, 9 of 12 MPs and 90 per cent office bearers are with Nitish and have given signed affidavits to poll panel expressing faith in the latter's leadership.
- Sharad faction, which has submitted letters of support odd 20 state units to the EC after JD(U)'s national executive on September 17, argues that only MLAs and MPs are not the party, and that JD(U) has presence beyond Bihar as well and the party is with Sharad Yadav.
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