Ramkripal Yadav to join BJP on Wednesday: Report

Zee Media Bureau

Patna: Former Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Ramkripal Yadav, who revolted after being denied ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, is likely to join Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday. BJP president Rajnath Singh, Deputy leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad and BJP`s national spokesperson Prakash Javadekar met Yadav at VIP lounge of airport here on Tuesday, , giving rise to speculation that he would soon join the BJP. After the conclusion of the meeting, Yadav told reporters waiting outside the airport that he will make an announcement tomorrow. "I have met Rajnathji today.We had a good meeting. I will comment on the rest of the issues tomorrow," Yadav told reporters. What remains to be seen is whether the BJP agrees to accommodate Yadav in the Pataliputra Lok Sabha seat of Bihar, a seat yoga guru Ramdev is said to have sought for one of his own aides. Meanwhile, Lalu Prasad`s wife Rabri Devi said Ramkripal Yadav`s exit will not affect RJD. Yadav resigned from all party posts of the RJD after Lalu Prasad, ignored his claim over Pataliputra ticket to field his daughter Misa Bharti from there. Ramkripal Yadav has been saying he has not yet quit the RJD and had only resigned from party positions. On Monday, Yadav had announced that he would contest from Patliputra here against RJD chief Lalu Prasad`s daughter. He had, however, not mentioned whether he would contest as an independent or as another party`s candidate. Responding to reports claiming that Yadav will join BJP, Misa Bharti told a news agency today that there were no personal grudges and if the rebel RJD leader enters in fray from Patliputra on BJP ticket, it will be a fight of ideologies between two opponents. Besides BJP, Bihar`s ruling Janata Dal-United is also wooing Yadav. On rebellion in his party after his trusted aide and Rajya Sabha MP Ramkripal Yadav and Gulam Gaus (MLC) quit, Lalu Prasad on Monday put a brave face, saying it would not affect his party`s prospects in the polls. He said that the deserters were over-estimating themselves, likening the two and other deserters to a horse in a chariot which thinks that the flower petals were being showered on it and not on the occupants of the car. Ramkripal`s closeness to the BJP is being attributed to LJP president Ram Vilas Paswan, who is said to have played a key role in building bridges between him and the BJP. Paswan himself junked a long standing alliance with the RJD in Bihar recently to strike a pre-poll deal with the BJP in Bihar which has 40 Lok Sabha seats. (With Agency inputs)