JDU chooses Nitish Kumar's close aide RCP Singh as party chief, amid tiff with ally BJP

In a major development, Janata Dal (United) chose Nitish Kumar's close aide - RCP Singh as its new president  on Sunday at their National party council. Ram Chandra Prasad Singh has been the JDU's Rajya Sabha Member since  2010. RCP Singh-  a former bureaucrat from UP IAS cadre - was also principal secretary to Nitish Kumar.  60 executive members of the party met in the first half of the day and members of the National Council met in the second half at the Party HQ in Patna.

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JDU chooses RCP Singh as new party chief

JD(U) is currently at a backfoot after six of its seven MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh Assembly quit the party and joined BJP. Terming it 'against coalition dharma', JDU has maintained that BJP is an ally only in Bihar. It has asserted that it will contest against the saffron party in West Bengal and Assam.

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JDU MLAs switch sides

On Friday, the   Janata Dal-United received a major jolt in Arunachal Pradesh, with six of its seven MLAs shifting allegiance to the ruling BJP, a bulletin issued by the state legislative assembly said.   The JD(U) MLAs who switched sides are Talem Taboh from Rumgong Assembly Constituency, Hayeng Mangfi (Chayang Tajo), Jikke Tako (Tali), Dorjee Wangdi Kharma (Kalaktang), Dongru Siongju (Bomdila) and Kanggong Taku from Mariyang-Geku constituency, the bulletin said. The development comes a day ahead of the announcement of the panchayat and municipal poll results.

Nitish Kumar says 'will discuss in council' as 6 of 7 JDU MLAs switch to BJP in Arunachal

On November 26, the JD(U) had issued show-cause notices to Siongju, Kharma and Taku for "anti-party" activities, and suspended them. The six JD(U) MLAs had earlier elected Talem Taboh as the new Legislature Party leader allegedly without the knowledge of senior party members. All six MLAs have joined BJP, with the saffron party scrambling to defend its move.

 Calling Nitish Kumar the "guardian" of the NDA alliance in Bihar, Renu Devi, one of the Deputy CMs in Bihar, said that the development in Arunachal would not affect the tie-up in Bihar. Renu Devi said, "We had not poached them (JD(U) MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh). What could our party have done if some legislators voluntarily expressed desire to join us?".

The JD(U), led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, won seven of the 15 seats it contested in the 2019 assembly elections and emerged as the second-largest party after the BJP, which had bagged 41 seats. Following the switchover, the BJP now has 48 MLAs in the 60-member House, while the JD(U) is left with only one. Congress and the National People's Party (NPP) have four members each. 

BJP attempts damage control as 6 JDU Arunachal MLAs jump ship; Nitish's camp huddles up