In a major blow to the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, the Election Commission on Wednesday cancelled RJD leader Shweta Suman’s nomination from the Mohania assembly seat, citing that she is a native of Uttar Pradesh.
Mohania, in Kaimur district, is a constituency reserved for Scheduled Castes, and only candidates native to the state are eligible to contest. Officials clarified that the rule does not apply to general seats.
Suman, however, accused the EC of bowing to pressure from the BJP. "It was cancelled to ensure that the BJP candidate Sangita Kumar wins Mohania. They rejected my nomination on the grounds that I am a native of UP and can't contest the election from a reserved seat. I have been living here for the last 20 years," she said.
"This is sheer highhandedness of polling officials who work on the direction of BJP's top leaders," she added, alleging bias in the system.
Suman further claimed that the BJP candidate submitted her caste certificate after filing her nomination, yet her papers were accepted without issue. "I will certainly approach the court against the partial attitude of the polling officials," she said.
Breaking down before the media, Suman detailed the alleged interference from the top leadership.
"Pressure was constantly being placed on the RO and CO from Delhi. They were forced to make this decision. They said they were helpless. The BJP, PM Modi, and Amit Shah were the ones putting pressure. Who else would be putting the pressure? I will definitely go to court," she said.
Earlier, Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Tuesday alleged that three of his party’s candidates were forced to withdraw their nominations for the Bihar Assembly polls under “pressure” from the BJP, and accused Union ministers Amit Shah and Dharmendra Pradhan of intimidating Opposition nominees.