BJP may field Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Saheb for Lok Sabha polls; Shatrughan Sinha hints at exit from party

New Delhi: Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who is the sitting Member of Parliament (MP) from Patna Saheb parliamentary constituency in Bihar, is likely to be replaced with Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, according to sources.

Sinha, a BJP leader who has criticised the party leadership several times in the past, had put out a series of tweets that seemed to indicate that he will leave the party. “Sir, the Nation respects you, but the only thing the leadership lacks is credibility trust factor. Leadership jo kar rahi hai or jo kah rahi hai, kya log uspe vishwas kar rahein hain? Shayad nahin! (Will the people trust what the leadership is doing and saying? Maybe not!) Any way it all seems to be too little and too late?” he said.

“Promises made in the past are still to be fulfilled. Hope, wish pray, though I may not be with you anymore - ‘Mohabbat karne vaale kam na honge, (shayad) teri mehfil mein lekin hum na honge’ (Even though those who are fond of you will not reduce, I may not be with you anymore),” Sinha tweeted on Friday.

Sinha also shared the stage with opposition leaders at an anti-BJP rally in Kolkata in January. The BJP, late on Saturday held a meeting at party’s headquarters presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party national president Amit Shah, to shortlist candidates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

democratic world who hasn't had a single Q & A session during his tenure.

— Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) March 13, 2019

According to sources, the decision was taken to field Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Saheb and RK Singh from Ara parliamentary constituencies. Further, the party is likely to field Sanjay Jaiswal from West Champaran and Union Minister Radha Mohan Singh from East Champaran constituencies in Bihar.

Bihar will see polling in seven phases. The dates of polling in Bihar will be on 11, 18, 23 and 29 April and 6, 12 and 19 May. The counting will happen on 23 May and the results will be announced on the same day.

During the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 22 seats, Congress bagged two seats, Lok Jan Shakti Party captured six seats and Rashtriya Janata Dal won in four constituencies. Meanwhile, sources said that while Saturday’s meet was held to deliberate on candidates that the party will field in various constituencies in 11 states, the BJP Central Election Committee is likely to meet again on Monday and by 22 March the party may announce the list of all candidates.