JD(U) supporters protest in front of the party office in Patna on Monday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Oct. 4: If throwing a shoe at former US President George W. Bush worked for Iraqi national Muntadar al-Zaidi two years ago, stripping could very well grab the attention of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar.

If screeching murdabaad slogans, rolling on the streets and even indulging in violence did not work for wannabe MLAs unhappy with the ticket distribution by their senior leaders for the ensuing Assembly elections, the JD(U) office in Patna today saw a desperate attempt to make heads turn.

A group of around 20 men, all JD (U) supporters from the Sherghati constituency near Gaya stripped off in public in front of the party office at the Bir Chand Patel Path of Patna protesting against the ticket distribution.

The men, led by Sherghati JD (U) president Vinay Prasad, stripped off and sat down in front of the party office alleging that Assembly Speaker, Uday Narayan Choudhary, and state social welfare minister (SC/ST) Jitan Ram Manjhi gave a ticket to Vinod Yadav, an RJD man after taking money. Yadav had recently deserted the RJD to join the JD (U). The protest took place at around 12 noon. The party office today wore a deserted look with locked gates, though.

With none of the senior office-bearers or even the everyday crowd present in the office, these men stood there without clothes protesting against the alleged injustice.

“Our demand is not being heard. We have been staging protest against this injustice for five days but no one paid any heed or gave any assurances. With no one paying any heed, Nitishji will definitely lend an ear after this move (stripping). We are here without clothes just to make the senior leaders pay heed to our demands,” said Prasad.

He added that the party’s decision to give ticket to Yadav was totally unacceptable. “Yadav has been a very staunch RJD supporter and he will only make the RJD stronger. Choudhary had taken a fat sum of money from him to pave his way for a ticket. We are demanding action against this. We are honest workers. The party can give a ticket to anyone but not him,” said Sherghati JD (U) vice-president Pawan Kumar.

Some of these men appeared visibly tired sitting under the scorching sun without clothes. A few of them got up, put their clothes on, took a stroll and again came back and sat down without clothes.

Amid all the drama, JD (U) spokesperson Anil Pathak said the one and only candidate for all the 243 seats in Bihar is Nitish Kumar and his development mantra.

“Whoever might be the candidate, people will be voting only for Nitish Kumar. He is the only candidate in all the Assembly seats. Under him, the state has seen all-round development. And this is what is going to work. These protests do not matter at all,” he said.