Umesh Kushwaha becomes Bihar JD(U) chief
PATNA: The ruling Janata Dal (United) on Sunday appointed former MLA Umesh Singh Kushwaha as the new state president, replacing Basistha Narain Singh, who resigned from the post on health grounds . The decision was approved by the party’s state executive and state council meeting on its concluding day.
“Umesh Singh Kushwaha has been made the JD(U) state president. His name was proposed by Basishtha Narain Singh, who had expressed his desire to be relieved from the post. Kushwaha’s name has been approved by the state council today,” said Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh, JD(U)’s senior leader and MP at a press conference held at the state party office.
Kuishwaha’s appointment was seen more a surprise as there were speculations of rife that another senior of the party and former MLA Ram Sevak Singh, also from the Kushwaha community, was under consideration for the top post in the state unit. But in the afternoon, the JD(U) state council meet endorsed Umesh’s name, signalling how the party had preferred a young face instead of old guard.
The appointment of a state president from Kushaha caste is loaded with political significance indicating how the JD(U) having suffered a big depletion in seat share in the recently concluded polls is now trying to woo Kushawas – prominent vote base among backward classes- into its fold after the party suffered dent in the Kushwaha vote base by Rashtriya Lok Samata Party( RLSP) chief Upendra Kushawa, who had formed a grand democratic secular front in alliance with AIMIM, BSP and smaller parties in the recently held elections.
“I will be discharging my duties and strengthen the organisational base of the party as a state president,” said Umesh Kushwaha.
PATNA: The ruling Janata Dal ( United) on Sunday appointed former MLA Umesh Singh Kushwaha as the new state president, replacing Basistha Narain Singh, who resigned from t he post on health grounds . The decision was approved by the party’s state executive and state council meeting on its concluding day.
“Umesh Singh Kushwaha has been made the JD(U) state president. His name was proposed by Basishtha Narain Singh, who had expressed his desire to be relieved from the post. Kushwaha’s name has been approved by the state council today,” said Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh, JD(U)’s senior leader and MP at a press conference held at the state party office.
Kuishwaha’s appointment was seen more a surprise as there were speculations rife that another senior of the party and former MLA Ram Sevak Singh, also from the Kushwaha community, was under consideration for the top post in the state unit. But in the afternoon, the JD(U) state council meet endorsed Umesh’s name, signalling how the party had preferred a young face instead of old guard.
The appointment of a state president from Kushaha caste is loaded with political significance indicating how the JD(U) having suffered a big depletion in seat share in the recently concluded polls is now trying to woo Kushawas – prominent vote base among backward classes- into its fold after the party suffered dent in the Kushwaha vote base by Rashtriya Lok Samata Party( RLSP) chief Upendra Kushawa, who had formed a grand democratic secular front in alliance with AIMIM, BSP and smaller parties in the recently held elections.
“I will be discharging my duties and strengthen the organisational base of the party as a state president,” said Umesh Kushwaha, at the presser after his appointment. He is former MLA from Mahnar constituency . This election, he lost to RJD’s Bina Singh.
Significantly, the two day state executive meeting, which concluded today, has been an important event in many ways as it has been a forum for the party’s leader to express their opinion on the recently concluded assembly election in terms of reduced seat share, organisational set up and party’s relationship with its allies mainly BJP.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday did not minced words in making his displeasure apparent over the way JD(U) had a suffered damages in terms of losses of seats due to the delay in seat sharing within the NDA and also confusion created about the alliance, indirectly taking a swipe at the way LJP took a stand of going alone in the election.
“We did not understand who were our foes and friends and whom we should have trusted. After the election campaign, we got to understand that things were not conducive for us but it was too late,” he said, at the state executive meeting, making it apparent how the JD(U) continues to hold the view that internal contraditions within the alliance led to its poor show in the recent polls.
Nonetheless, today Lallan Singh clarified that the JD(U) was very much a part of the NDA asserting there was no truth in the speculations that JD(U) would drift apart from the coalition. “We are strongly with the NDA,” he said.
Besides, Singh also informed that the state executive committee meeting adopted resolutions underlining that the party would work relentlessly to implement the state government’s ambitious programme of Seven resolves -2 by giving 20 lakh jobs to youths and unemployed and other schemes to make the state prospersous and developed. A resolution was also adopted for implementation of Jal , Jeevan Hariyali programme.
In an oblique dig at leader of the opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav for accusing that state government was doing little to contain Covid-19, Singh said the state government had done commendable work in containing Covid-19 after the outbreak of the pandemic , a reason why the state has high recovery rate and low mortality. “Bihar has one of the higest testing rate of Covid-19 in the country,” he said.