Nitish Kumar elected JDU president; Lalan Singh quits post Before the Election.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has been elected as the new president of JDU. Lalan Singh had offered to step down from the post of party president to contest the Lok Sabha elections at the national executive meeting in Delhi, which was accepted.

Citing the Lok Sabha elections as the reason for leaving the post of Speaker is not digesting any political expert. He believed that there was something wrong with the party, so right before the election, the post of president had to be left. 

The speculation that Nitish Kumar will become JDU president once again proved to be true. At the national executive meeting of JDU in Delhi, Lalan Singh announced his resignation from the post of party president and urged Nitish Kumar to take over the reins of the party. Amid thunderous applause from the executive members, Nitish Kumar accepted the request. Nitish has also been JDU president from 2016 to 2020. Lalan Singh said that he is leaving the post due to his busy schedule in the Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier, Nitish and Lalan Singh had reached the meeting together in a car. Before reaching the meeting, Lalan Singh went to meet Nitish at his residence where the meeting between the two lasted for half an hour. Nitish replaced Sharad Yadav as party president in  2016. He stepped down in  2020 and handed over the reins to former Union minister RCP Singh. After the rebellion of RCP Singh,  Lalan Singh was made the national president of JDU in 2022.

Nitish’s taking over the command of JDU is being considered as a strong message for the alliance leaders as well as the RJD. Nitish is known to be a tough bargainer and the Lok Sabha seat-sharing work is in front of the India alliance. After the meeting of the India Alliance held in Delhi on December  19, there has been an earthquake in the politics of Bihar. The greatest impact of this is being seen in Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party JDU. Lalan Singh had to resign from the post of president just before the Lok Sabha elections.

All the leaders of JDU and RJD continued to deny these speculations going on in the media before the meeting, but on Friday, the speculations finally proved to be true. There was also talk in the political circles of Bihar that Nitish Kumar was angry with Lalan Singh’s proximity to RJD. However, all JDU leaders and Khul Lalan Singh are denying this fact. And the reason given behind leaving the post of Speaker is to contest the Lok Sabha elections.

It is also being said in the political corridors of Bihar that Nitish Kumar left the NDA and joined the INDIA Alliance at the behest of Lalan Singh. It is believed that Lalu Yadav had promised Lalan Singh that he would lobby for Nitish Kumar’s name for the post of Prime Minister. However,  Nitish Kumar got angry after Congress President  Mallikarjun Kharge’s name cropped up as the Prime Ministerial candidate in the last meeting of the India Alliance.  

Most of Nitish Kumar’s close aides are leaders who are comfortable in alliance with the BJP. Now that Nitish Kumar himself has taken over the command of JDU, it is more likely that going to NDA again can be considered. They still believe that it is easier to run a government in alliance with the BJP than with the RJD.

On Lalan Singh’s resignation, Finance Minister Vijay Chaudhary said that Lalan Singh himself said that he will have to stay out continuously while contesting elections. Therefore, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should take over as the party’s national president. There is no bitterness between the two. Earlier, speculations were being made about Lalan Singh’s resignation. But Lalan Singh himself rejected the reports of resignation. Nitish also termed the JDU meeting as a routine meeting.

On the other hand, RLJD President Upendra Kushwaha has said that JDU does not see any major benefit from Nitish taking over. The party has already suffered a lot. They can give some strength to JDU. There were signs of change in JDU only when Nitish and Lalan Singh met recently. JDU is constantly under pressure about Nitish’s role in national politics. A day before the meeting, new posters of Nitish were put up outside the JDU office in Delhi, in which it was written that the state has recognized, now the country will also recognize it.

Even today, there were posters outside the meeting venue in Delhi in which it was written that if the coalition wants to win, then Nitish wants the face.

At Last: In a strategic move before the Lok Sabha elections, Lalan Singh resigned as JDU president, paving the way for Nitish Kumar’s return. Nitish’s takeover is perceived as a strong message to alliance partners and the RJD. Speculations abound regarding Nitish’s potential return to the NDA, emphasizing his favorable alliance with the BJP. The move comes amidst rumors of Lalu Yadav’s promise to lobby for Nitish as the Prime Ministerial candidate. The evolving political dynamics in Bihar, marked by Nitish Kumar’s leadership, suggest significant implications for the state and the India Alliance’s future course.