Know Your Turncoats, Part 2: RJD candidate with 16 cases, a doctor, ex-prof from a Congress family

A total of 18 politicians contesting in phase one of the Lok Sabha polls switched jerseys mid-game over the last five years – many of them weeks and months ahead of the elections.  

In part one of this series, we looked at four candidates, including three from Rajasthan and one from Assam. As the list unravels, we turn to the Northeastern states of Meghalaya and Nagaland and one of the most socio-economically backward states, Bihar. 

In the run up to the polls, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in Meghalaya and Nagaland witnessed several patch-ups with regional outfits NPP, NPF and NDPP. Meanwhile, in Bihar, a JDU leader jumped to the RJD. 

Let’s look at who these turncoat candidates are.

Abhay Kushwaha: 16 cases, from village head to MLA, MP polls   

Abhay Kushwaha alias Abhay Kumar Sinha is the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s candidate from Bihar’s Aurangabad constituency.

Kushwaha, 53, is a businessman in Bihar’s Gaya. He stepped into politics in 2000, and has climbed up the political hierarchy – from being the village head in Gaya to securing the Tekari assembly seat in the 2015 polls with a Janata Dal (United) ticket.   

However, he lost from Belaganj assembly seat to RJD’s Surendra Prasad Yadav in the 2020 assembly polls. 

Khushwaha also served at various posts within the JDU until his exit this March. Over the years, he served as the party’s Gaya district secretary, district president, and even the JDU youth wing state president.         

As per Khushwaha’s affidavit, there are 16 pending cases against him, most of them related to violating the model code of conduct. Meanwhile, his assets increased by 66 percent in nine years – from Rs 1.95 crore in 2015 to Rs 3.24 crore in 2024.  

Khushwaha has also made headlines over various controversies, from dancing with “bar girls” to posting on social media in support of Prashant Kishor.   

At present, his X account features a flurry of images of RJD top brass – mainly Lalu Yadav and his family members, and his profile image is a picture of him with RJD supremo Tejashwi Yadav.   

Dr Chumben Murry: Doctor, advisor to CM, fighting for lone MP seat 

Chumben Murry is the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party’s candidate from Nagaland – the lone Lok Sabha constituency in the state. 

The 61-year-old is an MD in obstetrics and gynaecology. Known for his welfare activities, he has also served as the honorary secretary at the Indian Red Cross Society, and has been active in doctors’ associations. 

After serving as a government medical officer for two decades, Murry took voluntary retirement and stepped into politics in 2008. In the same year, he contested from the Wokha assembly constituency on a Nationalist Congress Party ticket. He then served as the NCP’s state president between 2009 to 2012 until its merger with the Naga People’s Front. 

He remained with the NPF till 2022, contesting two assembly elections – losing in 2013 and winning in 2018. In May 2022, he switched to the NDPP along with 20 other MLAs, reportedly because they wanted to “strengthen” Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio’s NDPP government. However, now, both NPF and NDPP are alliance members of the NDA.   

Murry until recently served as the advisor to the Nagaland CM. His affidavit says there is “no pending criminal case” against him.

Newslaundry couldn’t find Murry’s footprint on social media platforms.     

As per his affidavits, between 2013 and 2024, his total assets increased from Rs 1.24 crore to Rs 3.05 crore, respectively.

Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh: A frequent flipper, from political family  

Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh is the National People’s Party candidate from Meghalaya’s Shillong constituency.   

The 53-year-old former professor’s political journey spans the two states of Meghalaya and Mizoram. An alum of Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia, she was a professor at St Anthony’s College before she joined politics as a Congress youth wing member.

It was not a tough move for Lyngdoh, whose father and brother are both Congress leaders. However, she quit the Congress and joined the United Democratic Party after the grand old party denied her a ticket in the 2008 assembly polls. 

She won from the Laitumkhrah constituency for the UDP and became the first woman MLA of the state. A year later, she re-joined the Congress and assumed the role of state education minister. In 2018, she was also made the Mizoram Congress incharge. 

But in 2022, the Congress suspended her for allegedly supporting the BJP-backed state government. She then joined the NPP.  

Strangely, Mazel’s assets have decreased from last year. In 2023, it stood at Rs 2.79 crore which decreased to Rs 2.02 crore in 2024. Her assets saw the biggest jump between 2013 to 2018. A rise by 1266 percent from Rs 21 lakh in 2013 to Rs 2.87 crore in 2018.

Saleng Sangma: Absent on social media, ‘popular’ on ground  

Saleng Sangma is the Congress candidate from Meghalaya’s Scheduled Tribe-reserved Tura constituency.

Sangma, 45, registered his first victory in the 2013 assembly polls as a Nationalist Congress Party candidate. He remained with the party for the next 10 years, and joined the Congress in January 2023.

Several Congress leaders then welcomed the “popular NCP leader”.  

The politician is a divorcee, and a Garo tribe native, exempted from paying income tax. His total assets grew by 42 percent from Rs 2.8 crore in 2018 to Rs 4 crore in 2024, respectively.

Like Murray, Sangma is not active on most social media platforms for political outreach. He does not have an X account. And on Facebook, he occasionally posted his speeches till July 26 last year. On his Instagram account, meanwhile, he occasionally posts reels of his trips to beaches.

(Research assistance by Sumedha Mittal)