Arms outstretched, former BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha joins Congress in New Delhi in the presence of party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala and Bihar state in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil. Telegraph file photo
True to his cinematic flourish, Sinha told the residents of Patna in a rally: “I have also come here to keep my word that whatever the situation, the location for me in the general elections will be Patna Sabhib only. It is my first, second and last choice.”
He conceded that he had left the BJP reluctantly and with a heavy heart when he saw the candidate list. “I still waited till the BJP announced its candidates. My name was not there. So I left with a heavy heart. I had dared to speak the truth and question the faulty policies of top BJP leaders, so they labelled me a rebel,” the actor said.
Shatrughan Sinha, who had insisted that he wanted to contest from patna Sahib and no other seat, was trailing the BJP's ravi Shankar Prasad by 1.8 lakh votes this evening.
Congress candidate Shatrughan had around 31 per cent of the votes counted in the Patna Sahib constituency in Bihar, according to Election Commission of India updates. This put him behind the BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad, who had 64 per cent of the votes counted as of 11.20 am
Just before the start of the elections in April, Shatrughan quit the BJP and joined the Congress. He called his former party a “one-man show and a two-man army”.
He said his friend Lalu Prasad had advised him to join the Congress. Shotgun, as his fans call him, also made it clear that he would contest from Patna Sahib in Bihar.
Sinha had won Patna Sahib in 2014 with 55 per cent of the vote share.
But this time, he was up against BJP minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who also is Shotgun’s friend.
About 20 per cent of Patna Sahib’s electorate is Kayastha, a caste to which Sinha and Prasad belong.