Patna: Bihar chief minister and Janata Dal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar has axed party spokesperson Shivanand Tiwary from the list of candidates announced for Rajya Sabha elections.
Tiwary alongwith former bureaucrat N K Singh and Sabir Ali are retiring on April 2, and all three have been axed this time. The tickets have been given to senior journalist Harivansh, Nitish KUmar's confidante Kehkashan Parveen and Ramnath Thakur (son of former CM Karpoori Thakur).
Nitish Kumar said on Friday that those who were complaining that the party's popular base is waning, should not themselves contest Lok Sabha elections and show that they can win. "Only speaking won't do, they will have to walk the talk, instead of resting", he added.
Shivanand Tiwary had openly criticised the functioning of the party and government at its brainstorming session (chintan shivir) in Rajgir, where he went to the extent of praising Narendra Modi in the presence of Nitish Kumar.
Meanwhile, BJP has decided to field former minister C P Thakur and R K Sinha from Bihar.
