Patna: Ahead of the by-poll in Kurhani assembly constituency, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav on Friday carried out a joint campaign at the Kermadigh ground in Muzaffarpur district.
For the first time, both leaders campaigned together in the by-poll. Earlier, when by-polls were held on Gopalganj and Mokama seats, only Tejashwi along with JDU president Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh had campaigned and Nitish had to skip it due to ill health.
Though it was a joint campaign, it turned into an ugly scene when Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) and Bihar Teacher Eligibility Test (BTET) qualified candidates staged a protest at the campaign ground demanding permanent jobs.
The protestors, who hurled chairs at the gathering, were returned the favour by the Chief Minister's supporters after which the former fled the spot. Along with CTET and BTET applicants, people from Pasi community, who were present on the ground, also created ruckus.
The community had staged protests on Tuesday in Patna, claiming police was unnecessarily arresting them for the alleged sale of country liquor.
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However, most of the leaders sitting on the dais did not react to the incident and Nitish continued his speech. While addressing the public rally, Kumar stressed upon the development work being carried out by the state government.
Attacking BJP, the CM said under his administration, citizens lived in harmony irrespective of differences in community or religion. “We don't believe in Hindu-Muslim and you can see that people from all religion and community are sharing the stage right now. There are few people who are engaged in destructive work. Let them do whatever they want to do but we believe in working for everyone" he said.
"We don't ignore anyone. I would request you to keep these things in mind while casting the vote. I want assurance from you people that you will give your vote to our candidate" he added, calling for a show of hands from the audience members who supported his stance.
The Kurhani seat fell vacant following the disqualification of the sitting MLA from RJD, Anil Sahni, in a scam. The main fight is between JDU and BJP where JDU has fielded Manoj Kushwaha and BJP has fielded Kedar Gupta. Other political parties like AIMIM and VIP have also fielded their candidates.
