Proxies of convicts rejected

Wives of criminal-turned-politicians lose in Bihar

Patna, May 16 : Four prominent criminal-turned-politicians of Bihar were barred from this Lok Sabha contest by courts. They put up their wives instead. But the voters firmly rejected them, as all four women lost the elections.

Jailed Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammad Shahabuddin's wife Heena Sahab, contesting from Siwan, was defeated by an independent candidate Om Prakash Yadav.

Ranjeeta Ranjan, the wife of Pappu Yadav, was defeated by Janata Dal-United's (JD-U) Vishwa Mohan Kumar in Supaul.

A sitting MP from Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), Ranjan had switched parties before the polls and joined the Congress, which gave her the party ticket from Supaul.

Veena Devi, wife of LJP MP Surajbhan Singh, was defeated by Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Bhola Singh in Nawada constituency.

Congress nominee Lovely Anand, wife of former JD-U MP Anand Mohan and a former lawmaker herself, was defeated by BJP's Rama Devi in Sheohar constituency.

Pappu Yadav had also fielded his mother Shanti Priya, who lost in Purnia to BJP's Uday Singh. Shanti Priya contested as an independent with the support of the Congress.

The four are among a dozen politicians, including MPs and legislators, who have been convicted and sentenced by fast track courts in Bihar after 2005, thus becoming ineligible to contest. Anyone convicted for a crime and sentenced to more than a two-year-long jail term cannot fight elections until six years after completion of the sentence.


Besides the celebration for the Congress for winning decisively, the above gives another reason for rejoicing.
I am happy the people have rejected the proxies put up by the criminals who had been convicted and so could not themselves stand for elections.
I now hope the Congress and the BJP will combine remive criminals and corrupt people from politics.