Patna: After facing a setback in the Kurhani by-poll, Janata Dal (United) will be holding its national council meeting in Patna on December 10 followed by an open session on December 11 at S K Memorial Hall.
Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh, who has been re-elected as JD(U) president for the second consecutive term, will be addressing the session along with chief minister Nitish Kumar.
The issue of the defeat at Kurhani would be the key topic of the debate, party leaders noted. The grand alliance, featuring seven different parties, could not manage to win the recently concluded by-poll.
“The national council meeting will make the official announcement of Lalan Singh ji as national president of JD(U). There are around 250 members in the national council and all will attend this meeting. Senior party leaders, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, will be present in this meeting and national issues will be discussed. JD(U) leaders from all states are also coming to participate,” the party's state unit president Umesh Kushwaha told ETV Bharat.
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Asked about discussion of Kurhani defeat – JDU spokesperson Abhishek Jha said, “We will be discussing all the issues including the defeat in Kurhani by poll.” The national council meeting will start at 3 pm at the party office.
Meanwhile, on the eve of the meeting, senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi took a dig at Nitish Kumar, asking him to hand over the power to Tejashwi Yadav and 'move to the camp of Shivanand Tiwari', a remark that appears to be suggesting Nitish to retire from active politics.
Tiwari, who hails from Bhojpur district of the state, has held positions in both RJD and the JD(U), even representing the latter at the Rajya Sabha. A veteran politician, he is largely seen as a figure among RJD's 'Marg Darshak Mandal'.
“Both CM Nitish Kumar and JDU president Lalan Singh should take responsibility for the defeat in Kurhani. Nitish should hand over power to Tejashwi and should go to Shivanand's ashram. Nitish has lost the mass support and the party should merge with RJD soon. Lalan Singh could not even transfer the vote of his own caste for the party in Kurhani. The chief minister's meetings and campaign remained ineffective in by-poll" Modi said.
“BJP won both constituencies Kurhani and Gopalganj by itself and now the party has become a modern Abhimanyu by breaking the Chakravyuh of seven parties. This is a clear sign of big change in Bihar" he further noted.
