Blood is thicker than water but when it comes to poll tickets, family ties can be put to test.

Two ministers in the Nitish Kumar cabinet have found this out the hard way. Parivarvaad is on open display in Samastipur as the two senior Bihar ministers are now “pitted against each other” after their children decided to contest the Lok Sabha
elections from separate political camps.

Rural works minister Ashok Choudhary and his cabinet colleague, information and public relations minister Maheshwar Hazari, both considered close to Nitish, are caught in a catch-22 situation in Samastipur.

While Ashok’s daughter Shambhavi Choudhary is contesting on a ticket of NDA ally Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Maheshwar’s son Sunny Hazari is a Congress candidate.

The two ministers had lobbied hard to get a JDU ticket for their children from one of the six seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC) in Bihar but couldn’t manage till the last minute. They then zeroed in on Samastipur, a reserved seat, which has been traditionally an LJP bastion since 2009.

Ashok, once a Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president before moving to the JDU, managed to get the LJPR ticket for his daughter. On the other hand, Sunny joined the Congress earlier this month and got a ticket on Monday.

The way the situation unfolded in the last few days not only highlighted the prevalence of “parivaarvaad” (dynastic politics) in the Congress but also in the NDA, which has been accusing INDIA bloc leaders of promoting only their sons and daughters.

The development has also put the fathers in a spot.

Ashok is better placed, as his daughter is contesting on an NDA ally ticket, but Maheshwar, currently the JDU Lok Sabha election in-charge for the Madhepura constituency, is staring at a face loss as his son has moved to the Opposition camp.

“Nitish Kumar is our leader and whatever development we see in Bihar is his contribution. The LJPR is part of the NDA and our ally. I see no problem in Shambhavi contesting on its ticket,” Ashok said.

Maheshwar, on the other hand, said joining the Congress and contesting on its ticket was his “son’s decision”.

“He is an adult and free to make his decisions. My loyalty is with Nitishji and my party JDU,” he said.

Shambhavi, currently pursuing a PhD from Magadh University, said gathbandhan dharma (alliance ethics) should be followed.

“Everybody should follow the rules and ethics of his party and alliance. I will seek blessings from his (Sunny’s) father because he is a JDU minister and a member of our NDA. I hope he (Maheshwar) will follow his political dharma,” Shambhavi said.

Soon after getting a ticket, Sunny, a panchayat samiti member from Shripurgahar (East) in Samastipur, rushed to seek the blessings of RJD chief Lalu Prasad before filing his nomination papers on Tuesday.

He raked up the issue of natives versus outsiders as Shambhavi and her family hail from Barbigha in Sheikhpura district.

“I have no challenge in Samastipur. She (Shambhavi) is an outsider. The people here are with me. I will win and strengthen INDIA,” Sunny said.

Asked about Maheshwar being a JDU minister, Sunny said: “He is my father, he has brought me up and made me a capable person, but we differ in politics.”

If sources are to be believed, there’s a churning in the JDU over the Samastipur development and the party may crack the whip sooner or later.

“Nobody believes that Maheshwar Hazari is neutral in this situation. His son could not have secured a Congress ticket without his influence. It is fine to wish your child well but not at the cost of the party. Our senior leaders are angry and the party may take action over the issue,” a senior JDU leader said on condition of anonymity.

Samastipur votes on May 13