Ram Vilas Bhagat found
himself abducted and, more importantly, fighting the polls at the age of 97. The
villager from Miles Pakri of Bihar 's Vaishali
district was allegedly abducted by some goons from his home on April 16 and
made to file nomination papers from the Hajipur parliamentary seat only because
he shared his name with LJP president Ram Vilas Paswan.
Interestingly, the
nonagenarian was made to change his surname from 'Bhagat' to 'Paswan' through
an affidavit before filing his papers. But things took a curious turn when
Bhagat's family members came to know about his nomination papers. They somehow
got a tip-off that Bhagat was abducted by an influential villager.
They then threatened to
lodge an FIR if Bhagat was not released from captivity immediately.
After his release, Bhagat
and his family members came to Paswan's residence to inform him about the
episode. Bhagat said he was kept in captivity for a night and forced to file
his nomination papers. His daughterin- law Kusum Devi said her father- inlaw
was made to change his surname from 'Bhagat' to 'Paswan'. It was a bid to
create confusion in the minds of the voters so that his votes could split, the
Lok Janshakti Party president said. "By fielding a person having the same
name they (rivals) want to create confusion among the electorate. But they will
not succeed," he said, adding that five 'Paswans' were fielded in the last
elections too.
Senior LJP leader Pashupati
Kumar Paras will seek a legal opinion before taking further action in the case,
Paswan said. Hajipur will go to vote on May 7.
Source: Mail Today
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