PATNA/NEW DELHI — Ram Kirpal Yadav, a trusted lieutenant of the former Bihar Chief Minister and the chief of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Lalu Prasad Yadav, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday and is likely to contest the Lok Sabha elections against Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti from Pataliputra constituency. Ram Kirpal met the BJP chief Rajnath Singh and senior leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is also from Bihar, at Delhi airport on Tuesday. The decision about the Pataliputra seat would be taken by BJP's central election committee which is to meet on Thursday. BJP considers getting Ram Kirpal into the party fold a big boost to its prospects in Bihar as it would attract a chunk of Yadav votes that mostly went to the RJD.
