Lalu loses Lok Sabha seat

Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad has lost his Lok Sabha seat. The Lower House Secretariat on Tuesday announced his disqualification and the Election Commission has been told to take further steps at his Saran constituency. A day after Congress leader Rasheed Masood lost his Rajya Sabha membership, the Lok Sabha Secretariat also disqualified Janata Dal (United) MP from Jahanabad, Jagdish Sharma, from the Lok Sabha. Sources in the EC said bypolls are unlikely to be held in these constituencies as general elections will be announced within six months. Both Prasad and Sharma are in jail for their role in the multi-crore fodder scam case. The Bihar MPs’ case is the first instance of Lok Sabha members being disqualified after the recent Supreme Court verdict banning convicted politicians from holding elected offices. Both the MPs will be disqualified from the date of conviction. Meanwhile, the RJD is trying for an alliance with the Congress in Bihar. It believes that a front of RJD, Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party and the Congress can challenge both the JD (U) and the Bharatiya Janata Party. RJD hopes that Prasad’s jail term will result in a “sympathy wave” and consolidation of Yadav votes in the State.