Bihar: JD(U) Braces For Its Organisational Elections; Will A Young Leader Get The Top Post?

Patna: Even as ruling JD (U) gets ready to hold organisational elections from block to national level, it leaves everybody guessing whether it will elect a young leader as its next party president like its ally, BJP, did.   

Presently, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is the national president of JD (U).

JD (U)’s national working president and Rajya Sabha MP, Sanjay Kumar Jha has announced that the organisational election process would be completed by the end of March this year. The election process will start from block units, as the party`s organsational election will be held at the district and state level before culminating at the national level.

In a virtual review meeting, Jha said that the newly elected office-bearers would have a three-year term (2025-28). The entire election process will conclude with the selection of the national president, he added.  In the meeting, MPs, MLAs, and district in-charges were instructed to ensure transparency in the election process. JD (U) has fixed the target of enrolling one crore new members by the end of the year. The party had launched its membership drive on December 6 last year.

Meanwhile, suspense over the potential return of former union minister and former JD (U) national president RCP Singh to the  party continues as senior party leader and state rural development minister Shravan Kumar categorically stated, "There is no need for RCP in our party. Why would he come here?" However, he  acknowledged that the decision to induct or expel someone from the party rested solely with Nitish Kumar.

The minister said that Singh was criticising the government and chief minister, calling them “damp squib"  as he also left JD (U) for the BJP. He said that Singh formed his own party later and when that venture failed, he now wanted to return to JD (U).

“Singh had joined Jan Suraaj Party of Prashant Kishor, who had claimed that he would retire from politics if JD (U) won 25 seats in the assembly elections. What need do we have for people from a party whose founder is talking about retirement (sanyas)?" he remarked. Earlier, senior JD (U) leader and union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh aka Lalan Singh, had also dismissed the possibility of Singh`s return to the party.