Former Member of Parliament Pappu Yadav, putting to rest ongoing conjectures, officially submitted his candidacy as an autonomous aspirant for the Purnea Lok Sabha constituency on Thursday.

Following a solemn moment of receiving maternal blessings, Yadav arrived at the collectorate astride a motorbike to lodge his nomination documents. A considerable throng of supporters escorted him to the nomination venue.

Earlier in the day, Yadav articulated that this occasion held significant personal resonance, emphasizing his electoral participation as a tribute to public sentiment. “I have garnered the esteem of the populace and been bestowed with their well-wishes. My endeavors shall revolve around fortifying the INDIA alliance. It is imperative for Congress to prevail for the betterment of the nation’s youth and economic landscape,” he articulated.

His mother, Shanti Priya, and father, Chandra Narayan Prasad, extended their felicitations and expressed fervent hopes for Yadav’s triumph. Following a traditional ceremonial ritual, his mother conducted an aarti and marked his forehead with a symbolic ‘Vijay Tilak’ before sending him off, having first ensured he partook of curd as a customary blessing.

Yadav, having recently affiliated with the Congress party, asserted that he is also buoyed by the blessings of RJD stalwart Lalu Prasad Yadav. Following the assignment of Purnea to RJD as per the coalition’s seat allocation in the Grand Alliance, Yadav reiterated his resolve to contest solely from Purnea, adhering to the populace’s wishes.

Having previously served as the representative for Purnea on three occasions, Yadav’s integration of his Jan Adhikari Party into the INDIA coalition led to his alignment with the Congress. He clarified that this amalgamation was not motivated by a quest for candidacy in Purnea, but rather, was undertaken at the urging of Congress luminary Priyanka Gandhi.

RJD nominee Bima Bharti, who has been nominated for the Purnea seat, extended an appeal to Yadav for collaborative engagement subsequent to filing her nomination on Wednesday.