The party has withdrawn Ravindra Yadav’s candidature and named 49-year-old doctor and businessman Noorani for the October 23 poll
PATNA — Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraaj has replaced its candidate for the Darbhanga graduate constituency in the upcoming Bihar Legislative Council elections, naming Dr Mohammad Imtiyaz Noorani in place of Ravindra Yadav.
The party announced Yadav as its candidate for the constituency on September 20 as part of its first list of five candidates. Eight days later, it replaced him with Noorani. Jan Suraaj has not publicly stated why Yadav’s candidature was withdrawn.
Noorani, 49, is from the Bisfi block of Madhubani district and has been described in reports as a doctor, businessman and social worker. He is the son of the late Mohammad Sadrul Haq.
The change makes Noorani the second candidate to be named by Jan Suraaj for the Darbhanga graduate seat within a little over a week. The party had initially announced five candidates on September 20, including Yadav for Darbhanga graduate, S P Rai for Darbhanga teacher, Divya Jyoti for Patna teacher, Afaq Ahmed for Saran teacher and Rajnish Ranjan for Kosi graduate.
Jan Suraaj is contesting all eight teacher and graduate constituencies in the Bihar Legislative Council elections. The eight seats are scheduled to go to the polls on October 23.
The party had also recently changed its candidate for the Tirhut teacher constituency. Bhushan Jha was initially named for the seat before the party replaced him with Shyam Nandan Yadav. Reports said the change followed differences surrounding Jha’s candidature.
Kishor subsequently said Jha had not disclosed some matters relating to land to the party, which was cited as the reason for withdrawing his candidature.
For the Darbhanga graduate constituency, however, Jan Suraaj has not given a comparable public explanation for replacing Ravindra Yadav. Reports have also carried unverified social media discussion linking Yadav’s name to an old cheating case, but the reports said this could not be independently confirmed. No such allegation has been cited by Jan Suraaj as the reason for the change.
With the latest change, Jan Suraaj’s announced candidates for the eight constituencies are Divya Jyoti from Patna teacher, Dr Anuj Kumar from Patna graduate, S P Rai from Darbhanga teacher, Dr Mohammad Imtiyaz Noorani from Darbhanga graduate, Shyam Nandan Yadav from Tirhut teacher, Dr Vimohan Kumar from Tirhut graduate, Afaq Ahmed from Saran teacher and Rajnish Ranjan from Kosi graduate.
