Bihar: Former BJP MLA returns to saffron party

The BJP in Bihar on Sunday claimed to have received a shot in the arm following the re-induction of former MLA Amarnath Gami, who was suspended nine years ago for indiscipline.

Patna:The BJP in Bihar on Sunday claimed to have received a shot in the arm following the re-induction of former MLA Amarnath Gami, who was suspended nine years ago for indiscipline. Gami, a two-term MLA, rejoined the party here in the presence of BJP national general secretary in charge of Bihar Vinod Tawade, state president Sanjay Jaiswal and union ministers Nityanand Rai and Ashwini Choubey, among others.

The BJP leaders claimed that the return of Gami will strengthen the saffron party in a state where it needs to rebuild itself after snapping of ties by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, which also stripped it of power. The re-induction of Gami, a Vaishya, comes at a time when the party is facing an uphill task in Gopalganj where Kusum Devi's bid to retain the assembly seat for the BJP is being challenged by RJD's Mohan Gupta who also belongs to the trader caste.

The by-poll to Gopalganj has been necessitated by death of Kusum Devi's husband Subhash Singh, a four-time MLA, and by fielding a candidate belonging to a caste group known to be inclined towards the BJP, the RJD has upset the applecart. The by-election will be held on November 3. Notably, Gami was with the RJD till a few months ago. Known to be of a volatile temperament, he was a BJP MLA from Hayaghat in 2013 when a tiff with party heavyweight Sushil Kumar Modi led to his suspension.

He retained the seat in 2015 when he contested on a ticket of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U). Five years later, though, he joined the RJD, alleging disrespect in the party of the chief minister. The RJD did not give him a ticket from Hayaghat but fielded him from Darbhanga where he lost.