PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was on Tuesday re-elected national president of Janata Dal (United) unopposed. This comes close on the heels of his election to the Rajya Sabha on March 16.
As no other nomination papers were filed for the post, Nitish was elected unopposed after the withdrawal deadline concluded on Tuesday. He has been re-elected for the 2025-28 term.
Earlier, on behalf of Nitish, JD (U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, Bihar Rural Development Minister Shravan Kumar, party MLC Sanjay Gandhi, and other senior party leaders had handed over the nomination papers to the party's returning officer and former MP, Aneel Prasad Hegde, at the party's central office in New Delhi.
JD(U) was formed in 2003 by former union minister and socialist leader George Fernandes, who was elected as its first national president. He was later succeeded by Sharad Yadav, who led the party for several terms.
Sharad later parted ways and joined Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal. Nitish assumed the post of JD (U) national president for the first time in April 2016, succeeding senior leader Sharad Yadav. He was re-elected in 2019 but stepped down in 2020, making way for RCP Singh.
In 2021, Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh assumed the charge. However, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Nitish became national president of the party again on December 29, 2023. Nitish’s son, Nishant Kumar, recently joined JD(U). He is likely to be given an important role in the organisation.