PATNA: Darbhanga MP

on Tuesday claimed that

workers used to loot polling booths for his father and him, before

was introduced. He left BJP and joined back Congress three days ago.

Addressing his supporters for the first time at Darbhanga after parting ways with BJP, Kirti said, “Congress workers used to loot polling booths for Nagendra ji. They did the same for my father and me as well in 1999 as electronic voting machine was not introduced then”. Nagendra Jha is the father of Bihar Congress president Madan Mohan Jha. He was the education minister when Kirti’s father Bhagwat Jha Azad was Bihar CM.

Kirti confirmed to TOI he made this statement, but in a different perspective. “It was a welcome ceremony and I was asked to share my experience after joining Congress. I own what I said. My only defence is that I said it wrongly and spoke in the heat of the moment. I was only talking about how Congress indulge in election-management and lure voters,” Kirti said.

The ruling NDA cornered Congress over Kirti’s statement. “He never won elections by looting booths with BJP. He was elected for being a BJP candidate. His security money will be forfeited if he contests elections from some other party,” said BJP state president Nityanand Rai. “Nonetheless, it is in the Congress culture to capture polling booths and managing elections,” he added.