JD(U) Names Sanjay Kumar Jha as Working President, Seeks Special Status for Bihar

The party's national executive meeting, chaired by its president and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, flagged price rise and unemployment as "burning issues", as its political resolution expressed confidence that the National Democratic Alliance government will take more effective steps to handle them.

The resolution called for an extensive probe into paper leak cases to ensure stringent action against the guilty so as to maintain the credibility of central competitive examinations. The resolution added that there is also a need for Parliament to enact a strong law against leaks of examination papers.

Mr Jha is a close confidant of the Bihar chief minister and was instrumental in rejoining the JD(U) into the NDA fold. Mr Kumar's decision to appoint his confidant as the party's working president, a position not held by anyone, suggests his efforts to keep better coordination with the BJP and draw a helpful bargain as he enjoys good ties with the BP leadership.

A former minister in Bihar, Mr Jha was originally in the BJP and served as its link with Mr Kumar before crossing over to the JD(U). The party insiders said that the JD(U) chief expects Mr Jha to maintain smooth relations with the BJP while working to get a positive response to his party's demands, including aid to Bihar.

The JD(U)'s decision to include a special package as an alternative to its historical push for "special category status" for Bihar marked a pragmatic climb down as the Modi government had cited the 14th Finance Commission's report to rule out special category status for any more states.

After his appointment, Mr Jha said his party's purpose was to get Central assistance for Bihar to build on the foundation laid by the Mr Kumar-led government since 2005, except for a short period when Jitan Ram Manjhi was the chief minister.

"It does not matter what name such help is given. We will pursue it with the Central government and are hopeful for a positive outcome," he said. Asserting that everything will remain cordial between the BJP and the JD(U), he said the two parties are natural allies.

Speaking on the upcoming Bihar assembly election in 2025, he said that the NDA will win more than 200 seats as the alliance had leads in 177 of the 243 Assembly segments in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.

The Lok Sabha poll results, in which the JD(U) won 12 seats in Bihar, showed people's approval for the JD(U)’s suprimo, Mr Jha said, taking a swipe at those who thought the chief minister's political career was on a downward spiral.

The JD(U)'s resolution said its responsibility and people's expectations had risen due to the party's participation in the Central government and the party has two ministers in the Modi government.

The resolution also called for more active and qualitative reforms in the fields of education, health care, agriculture, environment, social welfare, women's empowerment and national security.

Expressing concern over the recent Patna high court judgment striking down the Bihar government's decision to increase reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs to 65 per cent from 50 per cent, the JD(U) urged the Centre to put the state's law in the Constitution's 9th Schedule to rule out its judicial review.

The resolution praised Mr Kumar's political acumen and positive strategy, saying he played an important role in the running of the NDA government in Bihar and the formation of the Central government under Mr Modi's leadership.

It said people re-elected a government at the Centre that worked for national interests.

Another resolution passed at the national executive stressed the need for strengthening the party's organisation in states going to Assembly polls, while mentioning Jharkhand. It noted that the JD(U) candidates had contested and won elections in the state.

The party sources also said that the JD(U) will remain in the NDA fold and contest the Jharkhand election as an NDA’s ally. It will seriously work on its election strategy and put up candidates there, the resolution said.

The sources also said the JD(U) will nudge the BJP to leave a few seats for its candidates in Jharkhand.