JD(U) national executive, council to hold key meetings on September 3, 4

JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh said the meetings will be held in Patna on September 3 and 4.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) will hold its national executive and national council meetings early next month, the first since it severed ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form the Mahagathbandhan government with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), a senior party leader said on Sunday.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar speaks to the media, in Patna on Friday. (Aftab Alam Siddiqui)

JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh said the meetings will be held in Patna on September 3 and 4.

“On September 3, the national executive meeting will be held which will be followed, a day later, by the meeting of the national council,” he told reporters.

The meetings assume significance in the backdrop of Nitish Kumar’s recent “political move” and his party’s growing assertion to back him as the prime ministerial candidate in 2024. While Kumar has himself denied to be the contender for the PM’s post, he pushed for the Opposition unity to take on the BJP.

The national executive and the national council are top bodies of the party. The last national executive meeting was held in Patna when Lalan Singh was made the party president after his predecessor RCP Singh joined the Union cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an issue that snowballed into a controversy and remains one to date.

“The agenda (for the meetings) is yet to be given final shape. It will be finalised after discussion,” said JD(U) general secretary KC Tyagi. “The meetings are always important as they discuss organsiation issues, membership drive and other important matters.”

On Kumar’s projection as the PM candidate, Tyagi said it would depend on the proposals presented before the national executive. “The CM has himself made it clear that he is not a contender for the post, but he would strive to forge the Opposition unity, as it is the need of the hour,” said Tyagi. “How things evolve from here and what line the party should take may be discussed at the meeting. In the wake of the political developments in Bihar and a new government taking charge, the meetings are important.”

On Sunday, JD(U) parliamentary board chairperson Upendra Kushwaha reiterated that Nitish Kumar could “prove to be the best PM” if he got the opportunity. “Our main focus is to establish our party and our leader at the national level by 2024. If the situation so develops that he gets a chance, he will certainly prove himself,” he said. “But it is a fact that there are many claimants to the post and we don’t want to be an obstacle in the Opposition unity. Our effort will be to forge Opposition unity and see how things shape.”