Disqualified panchayat poll candidate marries, to field wife now

Patna, Sep 8 (IANS) A day after being disqualified from contesting for the post of village head (Mukhiya), a man in Bihar's Gaya tied the knot with his girl friend on Wednesday, and will field his newly-wedded wife in the election.

Aditya Kumar alias Rahul Kumar filed his nomination for the post of village head of Horma panchayat under Khijsarai block, but the returning officer disqualified him due to discrepancies in his caste certificate.

He belongs to the Dangi caste but it was not mentioned in the caste certificate.

"The Election Commissioner has turned down my nomination paper as the caste certificate I have submitted had a mismatch with the other papers. In the caste certificate, only Aditya Kumar is mentioned. As the Horma panchayat is reserved, I was disqualified for contesting the election," he said.

"As I was preparing for a long time to contest this election, I decided to marry my girl friend who is having a caste certificate. Now, she will contest the election for the panchayat head," he said.

The marriage function was held in a temple in Khijsarai block, with both families present, and a band also present.

The bride, Sarita Kumari, a resident of adjoining Naudiha village, will file the nomination on Thursday.