Former Bihar minister Muneshwar Choudhary, former Congress MLC Rajesh Ram join JD(U)

PATNA: Former Bihar minister and five-time MLA from Garkha (Saran) Muneshwar Choudhary and former MLC Rajesh Ram on Friday joined the ruling JD(U). The joining programme was held at the JD(U)’s state office here.
Both the leaders took membership of the ruling JD(U) in presence of state’s education minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary and the building construction minister Ashok Choudhary.
While Muneshwar was in the Pappu Yadav-led Jan Adhikar Party-Loktantrik (JAP-L), Rajesh was in the Congress before joining the JD(U).
Muneshwar, who began his political career in Saran district with RJD boss Lalu Prasad and won his first MLA election from Garkha as the erstwhile Janata Party candidate in 1977, became the minister of mines and geology in the Nitish Kumar-led Grand Alliance government in 2015. He was then fifth-time MLA of the RJD from his traditional Garkha seat. But he switched to the JAP-L in October 2020 after he felt that he would not be given the party ticket from the RJD leadership in 2020 assembly elections. He contested the 2020 assembly polls on the JAP-L ticket, but lost to the RJD’s official nominee.
After joining the JD(U), Muneshwar on Friday said, “The RJD does not remain a party like earlier years, hence I decided to quit Lalu Prasad's party, a few months ago.” He also said that members of all sections of society were getting benefits from the development and welfare schemes being executed by CM Nitish Kumar.
“No other political leader in Bihar can provide good governance like Nitish Kumar. Being deeply impressed by Nitish’s pro-people works and his administrative skill, I finally decided to join his party JD(U),” Muneshwar told TOI on Friday.
The two-term former MLC from Paschim Champaran Local Authority, Rajesh Ram was earlier with the JD(U) before he joined the Congress in 2015. He contested the MLC election from the Paschim Champaran Local Authority seat on the Congress ticket in 2015 and won. As his six-year term as the MLC ended on July 16 this year, Ram returned to his old party. Sources said he would contest the next MLC election on the JD(U) symbol.
Rajesh, who is the younger brother of former Bihar minister Purnamasi Ram, had won the MLC election for the first time in 2009 on the JD(U) ticket. Rajesh too lauded the Nitish model of development after joining the JD(U).