Puranmasi Ram

The JD(U) cracked its whip on two of its dissident Lok Sabha MPs — Jai Narayan Nishad and Puranmasi Ram — by suspending them from the party for six years for indulging in anti-party activities.

Around five days ago the JD(U) had suspended its dissident MLA, Chhedi Paswan, for meeting BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in Gandhinagar and strongly advocating his case for the prime minister’s post.

The expulsions of the two MPs — Jai Narayan Nishad, who represents Muzaffarpur parliamentary seat, and Puranmasi Ram, who represents Gopalganj reserved Lok Sabha seat — was not unexpected.

In fact, both these dissident MPs had made it clear they would not be fighting the next elections on a JD(U) ticket. Nishad, a ritual party hopper, had even met Narendra Modi and expressed faith in his leadership.

He had also expressed his unhappiness over Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s autocratic style of functioning.

The BJP is reported to have made up its mind to field Nishad as its candidate from Muzaffarpur constituency.

The other dissident, Puranmasi Ram, had criticized Nitish Kumar on several occasions from public platforms.

When RJD chief Lalu Prasad was convicted in the fodder scam case, Ram declared it would not affect the RJD’s vote bank and even raised the issue of Nitish Kumar’s alleged involvement in the fodder scam.