Patna, Apr 4 (IANS): Days after merging his Jan Adhikar Party with the Congress, Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav filed his nomination as an Independent candidate from the Purnea Lok Sabha seat in Bihar on Thursday.

After the merger with the Congress, Pappu Yadav was hoping to be fielded as the party nominee from Purnea.

However, after the seat went to the RJD as part of the seat-sharing arrangement between the Mahagathbandhan partners in Bihar, Pappu Yadav filed his nomination as an Independent candidate on Thursday.

The move has come as a big blow to the RJD candidate from Purnea, Bima Bharti, as she was expecting a one-to-one fight with the NDA nominee. But with Pappu Yadav also throwing his hat into the ring now, the contest has turned into a triangular fight which might give the NDA nominee an edge.

Addressing a gathering after filing his papers on Thursday, Pappu Yadav said: “I don’t know what problem Lalu Prasad Yadav has with me. When I met him, I assured him that I would support his son (Tejashwi Yadav). Yet, he along with some Congress leaders cheated me. I merged my party with the Congress on its insistence, yet they conspired against me to finish my political career.”

“I know you have a problem with me, but what was the problem with Kanhaiya Kumar or former Kerala Governor Nikhil Kumar? Why were they denied tickets? Mohammad Shahabuddin dedicated his entire life to build the RJD, yet you denied a ticket to his wife Hina Shahab. Will you fight communal forces like this,” Pappu Yadav asked.

“I did not merge my party with the Congress for the elections. I did it to fight the communal forces. I will not leave Purnea till the end of my life. I will also not drift from the ideology of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi till my last breath,” he claimed.