📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Ck17840
Politics
Two Independent MLCs Switch to BJP, Manoj Jha Launches Fierce Critique
✍️ Amar Ujala · Patna
🗓 01 Nov 2026, 12:31 PM
👁 15
Banshidhar Brajvasi and Dr. Rahul Raj, who won Bihar Legislative Council seats as independents, have joined the BJP, prompting senior leader Manoj Jha to condemn the move.
Banshidhar Brajvasi and Dr. Rahul Raj, both elected to the Bihar Legislative Council as independent candidates, announced their entry into the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday. Their switch comes shortly after the council elections, in which they secured their seats without any party affiliation.
The move triggered an immediate response from senior Congress leader Manoj Jha, who described the defections as a betrayal of the voters' mandate. Jha accused the two legislators of abandoning the principles on which they campaigned and warned that such opportunistic party hopping undermines democratic norms.
Political analysts say the defections could bolster the BJP's numbers in the council, potentially influencing upcoming legislative debates. However, the controversy also highlights growing tensions between the ruling party and opposition leaders in Bihar, with the episode likely to shape intra‑state political calculations in the weeks ahead.
The move triggered an immediate response from senior Congress leader Manoj Jha, who described the defections as a betrayal of the voters' mandate. Jha accused the two legislators of abandoning the principles on which they campaigned and warned that such opportunistic party hopping undermines democratic norms.
Political analysts say the defections could bolster the BJP's numbers in the council, potentially influencing upcoming legislative debates. However, the controversy also highlights growing tensions between the ruling party and opposition leaders in Bihar, with the episode likely to shape intra‑state political calculations in the weeks ahead.