Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, the Janata Dal (United) has revamped its national team, with new office-bearers being announced for the first time since Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took over as the party’s national president last month. His predecessor, former party president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, is missing from the list.
Mr. Kumar was unanimously elected as JD(U) president at the party’s national executive committee meeting held in Delhi on December 29, 2023, after Mr. Singh stepped down. Party insiders said that the former president had requested Mr. Kumar to exclude him from the team.
Five MPs removed
Five serving MPs who served as party national general secretaries — Chandeshwar Chandravanshi, R.P. Mandal, Vijay Manjhi, Santosh Kushwaha, and Giridhari Yadav — have also been removed from the new list of office-bearers, according to a statement.
Former MP K.C. Tyagi has been elevated from special advisor to political advisor, and remains one of the party’s two official spokespersons, along with former MLA Rajeeb Ranjan.
Rajya Sabha member Bashishtha Narayan Singh has been made national vice-president of the party, replacing Mangni Lal Mandal.
Leadership changes
Rajya Sabha member Ramnath Thakur and State Cabinet Minister Sanjay Kumar Jha have been included in the list of general secretaries. Altogether, the JD(U) now has 11 general secretaries and six secretaries, apart from one treasurer Alok Kumar Suman, an MP from the Gopalganj constituency.
There were 22 general secretaries in the outgoing team constituted by former party president Mr. Singh. Dananjay Singh and Harshvardhan Singh, who were general secretaries and close confidantes of Mr. Singh, have also been removed from their posts.
Out of the 22 office-bearers, four are Muslims, including former MPs Mohammad Ali Ashraf Fatmi and Kahakeshan Parveen, and Afaque Ahmad, who have been appointed as national general secretaries, while Mohammad Nisar was appointed a secretary.
