Jamshedpur: Former minister Dulal Bhuiyan resigned from Congress on Monday evening and joined BSP hoping to secure a ticket to contest from the Palamu seat. Before tendering his resignation, the three-time MLA from the Jugsalai reserve seat, who went on to become the state land revenue minister in the Madhu Koda government (September 14, 2006 —August 23, 2008), said Congress had sidelined him.Last June, Bhuiyan was convicted by a CBI court in a disproportionate assets case and he was given a five-year jail. As per the law, those convicted for two or more years can’t fight polls for a stipulated period of time.Bhuiyan, who is currently out of bail, however claimed that he had challenged his conviction in the Jharkhand high court and the plea has been accepted for hearing. He said his lawyers have told him that his conviction won’t hinder his prospects of contesting the polls.“After consulting my layers, I have jumped into poll fray now. So, I am going to file my nomination from Palamu. And if in case during scrutiny it is rejected, then my wife will fight on this seat,” he said.The state Congress, however, said that the party did not take the decision on seat distribution unilaterally but worked with mahagathbandhan partners. Jharkhand Pradesh Congress spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said: “If the Palamu seat was allotted to Congress, he party would have thought about which candidate to nominate.”Bhuiyan, a political turncoat, unsuccessfully contested from the Jugsalai assembly seat in the 2014 polls on a Congress ticket. In the 2009 state elections, Bhuiyan, then a sitting MLA, lost to Ajsu Party’s rookie candidate Ram Chandra Sahis. Bhuiyan, who was with JMM for more than two decades, switched to JVM-P after his defeat in the 2009 elections. In the run up to the 2014 assembly polls, he joined BJP but moved to Congress soon after.Despite losing two successive elections, Bhuiyan was working in the constituency with a hope that the party will field him from his traditional seat in the 2019 assembly elections. “He was a recognized SC face in the party and was one of the leading contenders for the Jugsalai seat in the assembly elections scheduled later this year,” said a senior leader in the district Congress.The leader added that Bhuiyan’s exit will not make much difference to the party as second-rung leadership of the SC community is ready to fill the vacuum.

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