Infighting deepens in Samata Party

PATNA, JAN. 2. (Pti) Infighting in Samata Party further deepened today with a defiant party's state president, Mr. Raghunath Jha, deciding to challenge senior leader, Mr. Nitish Kumar, by entering the fray for state presidency and opposing the bid for merger with the JD(U).

``I am least bothered about the consequences. I will throw my hat in the ring for the election on January 5,'' Mr. Jha said here today.

With Mr. Jha maintaining an anti-merger stand on the proposed unification of the Samata and the JD-U, the party high command had decided to remove him from the post and the names of Mr. Shyam Sunder Singh Dheeraj, Mr. Satish Kumar and Mr. Jagannath Yadav, were being considered to replace Jha, party sources said.

The party high command, the sources said had taken serious exception to Mr. Jha's diatribe against Mr. Nitish over the issue of merger with the JD-U recently.

When approached, Mr. Jha said he was never afraid of contesting the election and would definitely contest. He said even if he was removed from the post he would not relent on the merger issue and continue to oppose the move.

Mr. Jha, who is a Lok Sabha member from Gopalganj, said Samata MPs would hold a meeting to chalk out the future course of action against the bid for the merger with the JD-U.

While a group of MPs like Mr. Jha are opposed to the merger bid, Mr. Nitish's followers want to expand the base through the merger.

The Samata state legislature party during its meeting held here last week threw its lot behind Mr. Nitish for merger authorising Mr. Nitish to go ahead with his proposal for uniting the two parties.

The meeting criticised the reported statement of the party general secretary, Mr. Brahamanand Mandal and the senior leader, Mr. N. K. Singh, against Mr. Nitish's proposal and called upon central party leaders help to ask the two leaders to maintain restraint.

- PTI

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