Union minister cum BJP candidate gets fired at in Bihar

Patna: In Bihar, Union minister and BJP's Patilputra Lok Sabha constituency candidate Ram Kripal Yadav faced an attack at his convoy with gunshots fired on Saturday night. The leader, who was a close aide of RJD patriarch Lau Prasad Yadav before but joined BJP later, had a close shave at the incident that happened in the Masaurhi area of Patliputra, NDTV reported.

Since 2014, he has won twice the Bihar seat for the BJP. This time, he is contesting against Lalu Yadav's daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Misa Bharti, who had lost to Ram Kripal in the last two general elections.

The Lok Sabha constituency went to polls on June 1st, the seventh phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Reports suggested that local RJD MLA Rekha Paswan visited a polling booth on the day, and an altercation happened between those who accompanied her and villagers. Following that, Ram Kripal rushed to the booth and talked to the villagers. It was when he returned that his convoy was attacked, and he managed to escape unharmed. However, some of his supporters were beaten up.

Following the incident, the minister's supporters blocked the road and started a protest. It was only when the police assured them of quick action on the attack that they dispersed, and traffic was resumed.

Patna East Superintendent of Police Bharat Soni has said that they were informed about the attack and came to know that a party worker was injured. Police received a written complaint, and they have started an investigation on the matter, the officer said.

Heavy security has been deployed at the spot, NDTV reported.