Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to name JD(U) chief in Jharkhand

PATNA: Jharkhand JD(U) state committee on Saturday unanimously authorized party’s national president and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for nominating its new president. The Jharkhand JD(U) has no president since December 29 last year after Jaleshwar Mahto joined Congress in the presence of Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi.

All the Jharkhand JD(U) state committee members, its 24 district presidents and five senior party members from each district attended the meeting with Nitish in Patna.

“Around 250 active JD(U) leaders from Jharkhand attended the meeting. They authorized Nitish to select the new party president in Jharkhand,” Hathua MLA and party’s incharge in Jharkhand, Ram Sewak Singh, told TOI.

Singh, who was present in the meeting, also said the new Jharkhand unit president would most probably be declared within a week.

Party’s state vice-president and former MLA from Mandu, Khiru Mahto, and former Jharkhand minister Sudha Choudhary are said to be the front-runners for the post. Sudha is sister of former Bihar Speaker Uday Narain Choudhary. Both Khiru and Sudha attended the meeting.

Five days after Jaleshwar quit, Ram Sewak and Bihar’s rural development minister Shrawan Kumar were sent to Ranchi for damage control and to choose new state president.

“Singh convened a meeting of all state committee members of JD(U) in Ranchi on January 3. But they authorized Singh to select the new state president in consultation with Nitish,” JD(U) Jharkhand unit vice-president Aftab Jamil told TOI over phone.

BJP leader joins JD(U): Former Deoghar MLA in Jharkhand and BJP leader Kameshwar Nath Das on Saturday returned to the JD(U) in presence of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in Patna. Nitish welcomed Das by handing over the JD(U) membership receipt and a stole printed with the party symbol. Das had won from Deoghar as JD(U) candidate in 2005. But, later, he had switched over to the BJP.