JD-U announces 98-member national executive; Harivansh’s name missing

The Rajya Sabha deputy chairman has been at the receiving end of the party leaders for attending the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament building and was accused of working for BJP.

Janata Dal (United) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh on Wednesday announced a 98-member new national executive of the party.

Bihar CM and JD-U supremo Nitish Kumar inaugurates the country's largest examination complex, ‘Bapu Examination Complex’, in Patna on Wednesday. The facility will be also used for free coaching programme for preparation of engineering and medical entrance examinations for meritorious students. (Santosh Kumar/HT)

A notable omission from the list is the name of Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh from the national executive committee.

All members of the party in both Houses of Parliament, except Harivansh, figure in the list and so do all JD(U) ministers in the state cabinet.

“All MPs of the party are ex officio members of the national executive,” said a party leader who was not willing to be named.

The party has 16 MPs, all from Bihar, in the Lok Sabha, and five, including Harivansh, in the Rajya Sabha.

In the nearly 30-member strong state cabinet, the party has 12 ministers, besides the CM.

The Rajya Sabha deputy chairman has been at the receiving end of the party leaders for attending the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament building. He was accused of working for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Lalan Singh had said Harivansh had forgotten that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had sent him to the Rajya Sabha.

JD(U) was among the parties that boycotted the inauguration of new building of the Parliament.

Harivansh was elected as the deputy chairman in August 2018 as a candidate of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. His second term as a Rajya Sabha member is due to end in 2026.

In July, he had a meeting with Nitish Kumar which the party had described as courtesy meeting.

The national executive also has the name of veteran leader K C Tyagi, who was ignored in earlier rejig but was later made the chief spokesperson and chief advisor.

Former MP Magni Lal Mandal continues to be the party vice-president. The party would have 22 general secretaries and seven secretaries.

Bid beyond Bihar

While leaders from Bihar, including sitting and former members of Parliament and state legislature and other office bearers, make up a chunk of the national executive, there are clear attempts to expand footprints beyond the state.

Its leaders in the Northeast, where the JD(U) accuses former ally BJP of having poached most of its MLAs, find ample representation in the national executive.

These include MLAs from Manipur and Nagaland and heads of state units there and in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.

Adjoining Uttar Pradesh, from where rumours of Nitish Kumar contesting Lok Sabha elections to challenge BJP in its biggest stronghold keep doing the rounds, is represented by former Jaunpur MP and JD(U) national general secretary Dhananjay Singh and state president Satyender Patel.

Other state presidents in the list are from neighbouring West Bengal and Jharkhand, besides many far-off states like Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

With inputs from agencies