PATNA: Osama Shahab, son of former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin, is likely to join Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Osama met RJD chief Lalu Prasad in the presence of former chief minister Rabri Devi and leader of opposition in state assembly Tejashwi Prasad Yadav at their 10 Circular Road residence in Patna on Saturday.RJD sources said that Osama will take formal membership of the RJD in the presence of Lalu and Tejashwi at the party office in the state capital on Sunday. Osama’s mother Hena Shahad had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Siwan as an Independent candidate.Janata Dal (United) candidate Vijay Laxmi Kushwaha had defeated Hena Shahad by 92,857 votes. RJD candidate Awadh Bihari Choudhary was placed third.Hena’s presence in the election led to the defeat of RJD candidate Awadh Bihari Choudhary in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Mohammad Shahabuddin, popularly called Saheb in Siwan, has a strong influence among people in the region. Hena was not happy with the Lalu family after Shahabuddin’s death.Mohammad Shahabuddin, four-term MP from Siwan, died in judicial custody in Tihar Central Jail in New Delhi due to Covid19 infections. He was serving a sentence in double murder case. He had surrendered before the police on the directive of the Supreme Court after he was found hobnobbing with criminals after being released on bail.Chanda Babu, a Siwan-based businessman, had challenged the bail granted to Shahabuddin by the Patna High Court in the Supreme Court and also apprehended a threat to his life. His two sons were killed with acid and the third son, a physically disabled, was also later shot by armed criminals in Siwan.Osama’s entry into politics and joining RJD has revived the old ties between Lalu and Shahabu’s families. “Tejashwi wants to keep RJD’s ‘my’ core vote bank intact in the state assembly elections due next year,” said a senior RJD leader, who didn’t want to be quoted.
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