Jharkhand Elections: Independent MLA Amit Yadav, Ex-legislator JP Verma Join BJP

Independent MLA Amit Kumar Yadav and former legislator Jai Prakash Verma on Saturday rejoined the BJP ahead of the Jharkhand assembly polls. Yadav, the Barkatha legislator, and Verma were given membership of the party by Jharkhand BJP president Babulal Marandi at a programme in its headquarters here. BJP's Jharkhand in-charge Laxmikant Bajpai was present at the programme.

Yadav, the 42-year-old politician, won the Barkatha assembly seat in the 2019 assembly polls by defeating BJP's Janki Prasad Yadav by a margin of 24,812 votes. He represented the Barkatha constituency from 2009 to 2014 on a BJP ticket but he lost the seat in the 2014 assembly polls.

"When I was denied a ticket from the party in 2019, I decided to contest the polls as an Independent candidate. I got offers from various parties but I did not join any party. I continued to work for the BJP despite being an Independent MLA. Today, I formally rejoined the party," Yadav said.

Verma was in the BJP and had won the Gandey assembly seat in 2014 on a party ticket. But, he lost the seat in 2019 polls to JMM's Sarfraz Ahmad. He later switched to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). The INDIA bloc allegedly denied him a ticket for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from the Koderma seat.

He, then, contested the Koderma seat as an Independent candidate, which led to his expulsion from the JMM. "I returned to my original party after 18 months. The past 18 months were a black chapter of my life. I will work to strengthen the party in Jharkhand," he said.

Marandi said that their return to the BJP would strengthen the organisation.

"People are joining the party as they found that no work has been done in the state in the past five years under the JMM-led alliance government. The corruption reached its peak, the law and order deteriorated and the current government failed to fulfil its promises. The people of the state have decided to uproot the government in the upcoming elections," he added.