The leader of the Indian Bihar state's opposition party has said he will only support candidates to the local parliament who had been previously jailed for opposition demonstrations, the Patna Daily newspaper said on Tuesday.
Lalu Prasad Yadav, leader of the National People's Party, called for those who want to be elected to get arrested during a demonstration against regional authorities' policies scheduled for January 28.
"The administration [will] try to arrest the agitators on January 28 but you should not be afraid of going to jail," he said at a meeting of the party working committee on Sunday, adding "party tickets would be given to only those who remain behind bars for the longest period of time."
To prove that he has served a sentence, a candidate should bring a release certificate from jail, the politician said.
"Based on the time served, I would decide who gets the ticket and who does not," he added.
However, he said, he would try not to go to jail since "someone had to stay outside to campaign for those in jail."
The National People's Party had dominated Bihar for 20 years, until it lost elections in 2005. In 2009, the party failed to make it into the country's parliament.
NEW DELHI, January 12 (RIA Novosti)
