Pappu Yadav rules out possibility of fighting as a rebel candidate after Purnea seat falls into RJD kitty

Purnea (Bihar): Former MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, who joined the Congress last week hoping to contest Lok Sabha polls from Purnea in Bihar, on Friday ruled out the possibility of fighting as a rebel candidate, after the seat went to ally RJD.

Yadav, however, dropped hints of his expectations from the party, as he spoke of 'friendly fights' in several constituencies among I.N.D.I.A bloc partners.

His wife Ranjit Ranjan is a Rajya Sabha MP of the Congress.

"I am committed to making Rahul Gandhi the country's Prime Minister and helping the Congress revive in Bihar where, five years from now, it will be a force to reckon with in all 40 Lok Sabha constituencies," Yadav told reporters.

The former MP, who merged his Jan Adhikar Party with Congress and had claimed that Purnea ticket was assured to him by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, replied in the negative when he was asked whether he would contest as an Independent.

"I have held in my hands the Congress flag, never to let it go till my last breath. I will work to make Congress strong in Purnea and the effect will be for all to see when voting is held on April 26," he said.

He also cryptically remarked: "All INDIA partners are working together towards a common objective. At many places, they may seem to fight each other. In Wayanad (Kerala), Rahul Gandhi has been challenged by Annie Raja, the CPI candidate whose husband D Raja is that party's general secretary."

He, however, hastened to add "I leave it entirely to my leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge to define what shall be my role in the battle for Purnea."

Yadav, whose last electoral success came in 2014, when he won from Madhepura on an RJD ticket, had represented Purnea thrice in the 1990s, two times as an Independent.

After RJD president Lalu Prasad gave party ticket from Purnea to JD(U) turncoat Bima Bharti last week, speculations were rife that Yadav might be asked to try his luck from Madhepura or Supaul which his wife had represented twice.

However, the RJD muscled its way through and all three seats fell into its kitty.

Once a feared ganglord, Yadav, who detests being called a “baahubali', has cultivated a Robinhood-like image and is known to be popular in many districts of Seemanchal region in north-eastern Bihar.