Patna, March 12: Stepping up its efforts to appease the minority communities in Bihar, the Janata Dal (United) on Wednesday once again nominated a backward Muslim leader, Dr Ejaz Ali, for a Rajya Sabha berth.

Ali is the second leader from the community to have been picked by Nitish for the Upper House seat in the past two years. In 2006, Ali Anwar, a journalist-turned-activist, was hand-picked by the Chief Minister and awarded with a Rajya Sabha berth. Apart from Ali, the JD(U)’s list of nominees for the Upper House seats also includes the name of a Muslim leader, Haroon Rashid.

Besides aiming at the Muslim support base, the JD(U), this time, has also tried to keep its upper caste voters happy by making N K Singh and Shivanand Tiwary candidates of the party for the biennial Rajya Sabha polls.

Ever since he took over the reins of the state two years back, Kumar had been concertedly trying to win over the support of the 16 per cent Muslim vote bank in the state. M-Y (Muslim-Yadav) support was crucial to RJD’s 15-year-long rule in the state and by awarding Ejaz Ali with a Rajya Sabha berth, Nitish is pursuing his political gameplan of breaking away the Muslim votes in his favour.

Dr Ali, a surgeon, has a political background too. Like JD(U) MP Ali Anwar, he too has championed the cause of backwards and Dalits among Muslims, by demanding separate reservation for them in jobs and educational institutions. He defected from the RJD to join the JD(U) after Kumar came to power and campaigned aggressively for the party during the Bikramganj Lok Sabha by-poll.

Nitish’s focus so far has been on the backwards and Dalits among the Muslims, who form the majority. He has also been a strong supporter of separate reservation for backwards and Dalits among the Muslims as for Hindus.