By Manoj Pathak

Patna, Sep 12 (IANS): A political storm is brewing ahead of the assembly elections in Bihar. Crowds of ticket-seekers to contest the upcoming elections are gathering outside party offices as well as residences of many senior leaders.

Several political leaders are also switching loyalties to other parties to secure their political future.

However, many politicians are ready to pass on their political legacy to the next generation. It is not that such leaders are present in a lone party. Instead there are many leaders in all prominent parties in Bihar who are in the process of handing over their 'political reins' to their sons.

There are many leaders who are trying to carve the political career of their relatives by giving them election tickets. Even though such leaders are in all parties, the Congress leads the list of such leaders.

A Congress leader preferring anonymity said there are many senior leaders who are doing rounds of the party circles in Delhi to 'set' the political career of their sons. However, the party workers do not like it.

Sources say the party's Bihar unit President Madan Mohan Jha is trying to get his son Madhav Jha an election ticket from Benipur. Senior party leader from Kahalgaon Sadanand Singh is planning to pass his political baton to his son Shubhanand Mukesh.

Congress leader Dr. Ashok Kumar is trying to field his son Atirek from Dalsinghsarai on the party's election symbol while Garibdas wants to get a ticket from Bachwada seat to inherit the legacy of his late father and former Congress MLA Ramdev Rai.

Speaking to IANS, senior Congress leader and former MLA Narendra Kumar said, "If a leader wants to retire from politics and bring his next generation into it, there is no harm in it. After all the party will be robust only with the youth coming forward."

However, he said that it should not so happen that a politician himself is an election ticket contender and also seeks ticket for his/her son or daughter from other areas as well.

It is not that such a situation is prevalent just in the Congress. In the BJP, too, many leaders are involved in the race to seek election ticket for their progeny. Union Minister Ashwini Choubey is believed to be trying for a ticket from Bhagalpur for his son Arijit Sashwat een as BJP MP Chhedi Paswan wants to field his son Ravi Paswan in this election.

Both Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav, sons of RJD President Lalu Prasad, are expected to contest the upcoming elections. However, RJD sources say that party's State President Jagdanand Singh is trying to get his son Sudhakar Singh a ticket from the Ramgarh assembly constituency.

In the ruling JD(U), too, there are many leaders trying to get their next generation into the electoral fray.

However, more or less all parties are full of politicians who are desirous of pushing their future generation in the political arena in this election, but it remains to be seen how many will succeed and who the voters will elect to power.