The National Executive meeting of the JDU: “A united Opposition can drive the BJP out of power,” says Nitish Kumar
The National Executive meeting of the JDU: “A united Opposition can drive the BJP out of power,” says Nitish Kumar
The national executive meeting of the JD(U): “A united Opposition can drive the BJP out of power,” says Nitish Kumar. He also strongly disagreed with the Manipur development from Friday, when five of the six JDU legislators switched to the BJP, saying it “reflected how the BJP had been trying to demolish other parties.”
Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar, said on Saturday that if the opposition banded together, the BJP “could be driven out of power” in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In his address to the JD(U) national executive meeting on Saturday, Nitish said he would visit Delhi soon to begin his efforts to bring together parties opposed to the BJP’s politics and policies.
He also strongly disagreed with the Manipur development from Friday, when five of the six JD(U) legislators switched to the BJP, saying it “reflected how the BJP had been trying to demolish other parties.”
What is JD(U)?
The JD(U) is holding a two-day meeting of its national executive and national council (Saturday and Sunday) — the first major party event since it left the BJP-led NDA last month to join the Mahagathbandhan. The agenda for the two-day meeting is titled “Opposition Unity.” On Saturday, the national executive passed three resolutions, including one on “Nitish devoting his full time to Opposition unity.”
The wise words of Nitish Kumar
“Nitish Kumar elaborated on how the BJP has been attempting to implement its communal agenda,” JDU national spokesperson KC Tyagi told The Indian Express. Nitish has stated that he will work to unite the Opposition and will visit Delhi soon.” Tyagi stated that the JDU national council, the party’s highest decision-making body, will endorse all three resolutions of the national executive on Sunday and “authorize Nitish to devote full time to Opposition unity.”
As supporters chanted “Desh ka PM Kaisa ho, Nitish Kumar jaisa ho,” JDU national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh clarified three times that “Nitish was not the PM candidate [in 2024].”
Earlier in the day, Nitish told reporters that if opposition parties band together, the 2024 elections could produce “very good results.” “Look at what’s going on. “Our six Manipur MLAs were supposed to attend this meeting, but the BJP prevented them from attending,” he said.
Nitish is expected to meet Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, CPI(M) Sitaram Yechuri, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, and NCP chief Sharad Pawar in the near future.
Tyagi said on Friday, “We are overwhelmed by the kind of response we have received after severing ties with the BJP. Leaders from various parties have called us, including CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, and CPI leader D Raja. Our leader, Nitish Kumar, has already called for Opposition unity, which will be high on our agenda… In the coming months, we will discuss how to proceed.”
The People’s Party (United), or Janata Dal (United), is a political organization in India with its main bases in the east and northeast. JD(U) is well recognized as a state party in Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, and Manipur and is a constituent of the Bihar government. The JD(U) is the government in Bihar and the second largest party in Manipur. In the 2019 Indian general election, the JD(U) won 16 seats, making it the seventh-largest party in the Lok Sabha.
The JD(U)
On 30 October 2003, the Janata Dal (United) was formed by the merger of the Janata Dal’s Sharad Yadav faction, the Lok Shakti Party, and the Samata Party. However, the Election Commission of India refused the merger of the Samata Party, so Uday Mandal became President and took charge of the Samata Party.
Brahmanand Mandal became President, but he was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and was not physically well, so Uday Mandal became President and took charge of the Samata Party. George Fernandes, a veteran socialist leader, is the party’s mentor and patron. The JD(U) has not been a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance from August 2022 to the present, nor from June 2013 to August 2017, or from August 2022 to the present (NDA).
The Janata Dal (United) was founded prior to the 1999 General Election. A faction led by then-Karnataka Chief Minister J. H. Patel supported the National Democratic Alliance, causing the Janata Dal to split, leading to the creation of the Janata Dal (Secular) under H. D. Deve Gowda, who wanted to maintain a neutral position between both national parties. The Janata Dal was then renamed Janata Dal under Sharad Yadav (United).
The Lok Shakti, the Samata Party, and the Sharad Yadav faction of the Janata Dal came together to form the Janata Dal (United). The Samata Party, led by George Fernandes and Nitish Kumar, merged with the Janata Dal on October 30, 2003. The resulting organization adopted the Samata Party’s green and white flag as well as the Janata Dal (United) name and arrow symbol. The Rashtriya Janata Dal is believed to be the unifying factor in Bihar, especially after the party accepted Samata Party rebels like Raghunath Jha into the party.
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
