PTI, Patna: The Congress today suffered a split in the Bihar Legislative Council, after former state party chief Ashok Choudhary and three other members of the Congress Legislature Party in the Upper House were recognised as members of the ruling Janata Dal (United).
The development comes ahead of three bypolls in the state next month.
The four Congress MLCs – Ashok Choudhary, Dilip Choudhary, Ramchandra Bharti and Tanweer Akhtar – yesterday officially sought recognition as MLCs of the JD(U), the council’s officiating chairman Haroon Rashid said.
“The application of the four Congress members has been accepted,” Rashid told PTI.
The Congress earlier had six MLCs in the House.
The four leaders later called on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his official residence and formally joined the JD(U).
Kumar, also the JD(U) president, welcomed the MLCs into the party.
State JD(U) president Bashishtha Narayan Singh, national general secretary R C P Singh and other party leaders were present on the occasion.
Acting state Congress president Kaukab Qadri said the two remaining MLCs and 27 party MLAs “are firmly with us and there is no possibility of more legislators leaving the party”.
