Hajipur Independent Ram Vilas meets Paswan, clarifies name change

Patna: An elderly person, who was allegedly kidnapped and forced to file his nomination from Hajipur as Ram Vilas Paswan to confuse voters, today met the LJP president and narrated his woes.

The 97-year-old man, whose original name is Ram Vilas Bhagat, had on the basis of a false affidavit given his name as Ram Vilas Paswan. Paswan’s namesake alleged that he was forced by local strongmen to file nomination as an Independent to confuse the voters against LJP chief due to similarity in the name.

The nonagenarian, a labourer from Bhairopur under Bidupur police station of Vaishali district, told reporters at the LJP president’s residence that he was kidnapped by local mafia and kept in captivity for the night and forced to file nomination from the Hajipur reserved seat.

The LJP president told reporters that he came to know of the tragedy from the old man’s daughter-in-law, a widower.

Sympathising with the old man’s plight, he said he has hearing problem also and was made to undergo hardship by political rivals. He said he was freed only when his daughter-in-law threatened to go to police.

Hajipur will go to vote on May 7.

The LJP president said that in the 2009 elections too, his political rivals as part of a conspiracy, made five persons bearing surname of Paswan file nomination to confuse the voters against him. He said LJP was contemplating action in this matter.

PTI