Insaaf Times Desk
The Janata Dal (United) [JDU] suffered a major setback as hundreds of its leaders from Darbhanga district joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Monday. The joining ceremony, described as a “Grand Unification Event,” took place at the RJD’s state headquarters in Patna, in the Karpuri Auditorium, under the chairmanship of the party’s state president, Mangni Lal Mandal.
Among those who switched sides were Gopal Mandal, former JDU district president of Darbhanga; Chand Ansari, JDU state general secretary; Sabeela Khatoon, Nand Kishore Rai, Sunil Yadav, and several other prominent leaders along with hundreds of their supporters, all of whom formally joined the RJD.
Senior RJD leaders including Abdul Bari Siddiqui, Ali Ashraf Fatmi, Bhola Yadav, Lalit Yadav, Dr. Tanveer Hasan, Ranwijeh Sahu, MLAs Dr. Anwar Alam, Ramashish Yadav, Ramniwas Prasad, Sitaram Yadav, and party spokesperson Ejaz Ahmad were present at the event.
According to spokesperson Ejaz Ahmad, the newly inducted leaders were welcomed with RJD membership receipts, a copy of “Gopalganj to Raisina”—a book based on the political life of Lalu Prasad Yadav—and the party’s symbolic red-and-green scarf and cap.
State president Mangni Lal Mandal stated that the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) have become completely disillusioned with Nitish Kumar, adding, “The so-called double-engine government has robbed the 16% reservation meant for the most backward, backward, Dalit, and tribal communities. Nitish Kumar, in alliance with the BJP, has weakened the rights of these marginalized sections.”
Senior leaders Abdul Bari Siddiqui, Ali Ashraf Fatmi, and Bhola Yadav echoed this sentiment, asserting that there is “no trace of governance left in Bihar.” They accused the government of turning corruption into a virtue, saying, “Crime and criminals dominate the state, while the most backward communities continue to face persecution.”
The leaders also accused the BJP of spreading hatred and sowing divisions within society, emphasizing that it was time to take Lalu Prasad Yadav’s ideology and Tejashwi Yadav’s leadership to every village to strengthen transformative politics in Bihar.
Several other workers including Om Prakash Khedia, Chandeshwar Prasad Singh, Bablu Malakar, Rajesh Pal, Upendra Chandravanshi, Ganesh Kumar Yadav, and Vikrant Rai were also present at the event.
