Janata Dal (United) ("People’s Party (United)"), abbreviated as JD(U), is an Indian political party with political presence mainly in eastern and north-eastern India. JD(U) is recognised as a state party in the states of Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur and is a part of government in Bihar. JD(U) heads the government in Bihar and has remained the second largest party in Manipur. JD(U) won 16 seats in the 2019 Indian general election, making it the seventh largest party in the Lok Sabha.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal is an Indian political party, based in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Kerala. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Nitish Kumar is an Indian politician, who is serving as 22nd Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previously held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. He is Bihar's longest serving chief minister. He is the leader of the Janata Dal (United). Previously, Kumar also served as a Union Minister as the Samata Party member. He was member of the Samata Party until 2005 and Janata Dal from 1989 to 1994. Kumar first entered politics as a member of the Janata Dal, becoming an MLA in 1985. A socialist, Kumar founded the Samata Party in 1994 along with George Fernandes. In 1996 he was elected to the Lok Sabha, and served as a Union Minister in the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, with his party joining the National Democratic Alliance. In 2003 his party merged into the Janata Dal (United), and Kumar became its leader. In 2005, the NDA won a majority in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, and Kumar became chief minister heading a coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Kushwaha is a community of the Indo-Gangetic Plain that has traditionally been involved in agriculture, including beekeeping. The term has been used to represent different sub-castes of the Kachhis, Kachhvahas, Koeris and Muraos. Under the Indian governments system of positive discrimination, the Kushwahas are classified as a "Backward" or Other backward class. The Kushwaha had worshipped Shiva and Shakta, but beginning in the 20th century, they claim descent from the Suryavansh (Solar) dynasty via Kusha, one of the twin sons of Rama and Sita. At present, it is a broad community formed by coming together of several caste groups with similar occupational backgrounds and socio-economic status, who, over the time, started inter-marrying among themselves and created all India caste network for caste solidarity. The communities which merged into this caste cluster includes Kachhi, Kachhwaha, Kushwaha, Mali, Marrar, Saini, Sonkar, Murai, Shakya, Maurya, Koeri and Panara.
The politics of Bihar, an eastern state of India, is dominated by regional political parties. As of 2021, the main political parties are Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United) (JDU). There are also some smaller regional parties, including Samata Party, Hindustani Awam Morcha, Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal, Jan Adhikar Party and Vikassheel Insaan Party, Lok Janshakti Party and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, which play a vital role in politics of state. As of 2022, Bihar is currently ruled by Mahagatbandhan (Grandalliance) coalition.
The Lonia or Nonia are Hindu other backward caste, found in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar adjoining areas, who were traditionally involved in salt-digging and salt-making activities. The Lonia or Nonia are listed as extremely backward caste along with Mallah, Bind and Beldar communities, by state governments. The community leaders have been seeking Scheduled Tribe status for the socially deprived community.
The Bind are a caste found in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Tripura. Bind are under the OBC category of the central list. Bind is one of the Nishad communities. In Uttar Pradesh, they are known by the Kewat sub-caste. In Bihar Bind comes under OBC.
There was a political crisis in Bihar state of India during February 2015 over the post of the Chief Minister of Bihar. Incumbent Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi did not vacate the post for former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who wanted to return, resulting in a split in the political party, JD(U). After days, the Governor asked Manjhi to prove majority in house by trust vote. Manjhi quit the post on day of vote and later Nitish Kumar took oath as chief minister again on 22 February 2015 ending the crisis.
Raj Kumar Singh is a former Indian bureaucrat and a current Union Cabinet Minister in the Government of India. He is a Member of the Indian Parliament for Arrah, Bihar, since May 2014. Singh is a 1975 batch Bihar cadre Indian Administrative Service officer and former Home Secretary of India.
Rashtriya Lok Samta Party was a political party in India led by Upendra Kushwaha. It was launched on 3 March 2013 and was based in the state of Bihar. The party came into existence as a result of a feud between Nitish Kumar and Upendra Kushwaha, after which Kushwaha left The Nitish Kumar lead Janata Dal (United) and formed his own party. It has faced multiple rebellions and desertions since 2015. After the relations between Nitish and Kushwaha normalized, Upendra Kushwaha merged RLSP into JDU on March 14th 2021, with this, the party ceased to exit.
Upendra Kumar Singh, who is commonly known as Upendra Kushwaha is an Indian politician, and a former Member of Bihar Legislative Council and Bihar Legislative Assembly. He has also served as Minister of State for Human Resources and Development in the Government of India. Kushwaha is a former Member of Parliament (MP) from the Karakat constituency in Rohtas district, Bihar, and a former member of the Rajya Sabha. He was the leader of Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal (RLJD), his own party, which splited from Janata Dal (United) (JDU) in 2023. On 20 February 2023, Kushwaha resigned from all positions in Janata Dal (United) and formed his own party called Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal due to his political problems with JD(U) and Nitish Kumar.
Jitan Ram Manjhi is an Indian politician from the eastern state of Bihar who served as its 23rd Chief Minister from 20 May 2014 to 20 February 2015. He was the founding President of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM). Previously, he had served as minister for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes welfare in Nitish Kumar's cabinet. He has been a minister in several Bihar state governments, under multiple chief ministers like Chandrashekhar Singh, Bindeshwari Dubey, Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Jagannath Mishra, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi.
Renu Devi is an Indian politician who served as the 7th Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar from 16 November 2020 to 9 August 2022.
The Legislative Assembly election was held over five-phases in Bihar through October–November 2015 before the end of the tenure of the prior Legislative Assembly of Bihar on 29 November 2015.
Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (translation: Indian People's Front) is an Indian political party having presence in Bihar. HAM(S) got new symbol Wok in Bihar Assembly Election 2020.
Prashant Kishor, colloquially known as PK, is an Indian political strategist and tactician. He worked in public health programmes funded by the United Nations for eight years before venturing into Indian politics and working as a political strategist.
Mahagathbandhan (MGB), also known as Grand Alliance, is a coalition of political parties in the Eastern state of Bihar in India, formed ahead of the 2015 Vidhan Sabha elections in Bihar. The alliance consists of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Janata Dal (United), Indian National Congress (INC) and Left parties including Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation-CPIML (Liberation) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM), with Nitish Kumar as the leader and Tejashwi Yadav as the chairperson. It is the ruling coalition government in Bihar.
The Bihar Legislative Assembly election was held in three phases through October–November to elect members to the Seventeenth Bihar Legislative Assembly. The term of the previous Sixteenth Legislative Assembly of Bihar ended on 29 November 2020.
Samrat Choudhary alias Rakesh Kumar is an Indian politician and Member of Bihar Legislative Council from the Bharatiya Janata Party. He has been the party president of BJP Bihar State unit from March 2023. He has also remained Member of Legislative Assembly and a minister in Government of Bihar in Rashtriya Janata Dal government. Chaudhary has been a former Vice President of BJP for the state of Bihar and currently elected for the second term as MLC in 2020 after his first term ended in 2019. In 2014 Samrat planned a split in Rashtriya Janata Dal by defecting thirteen MLAs as splinter group of the party. He later joined BJP. In 2022, he was selected as the Leader of Opposition in Bihar Legislative Council.
The Luv-Kush equation is a political term used in the context of the politics of Bihar, to denote the alliance of the agricultural Kurmi and the Koeri caste, which was assumed to be approximately 15% of the state's population The alliance of these two caste groups has remained the support base of Nitish Kumar, as against the MY equation of Lalu Prasad Yadav, which constitutes Muslims and the Yadavs. Caste consciousness and the quest for political representation largely drive the politics of Bihar. The political alliance of the Koeri and the Kurmi castes, termed the "Luv-Kush equation" was formed when a massive Kurmi Chetna Rally was organised by members of the Kurmi community in 1994 against the alleged casteist politics of Lalu Yadav, who was blamed by contemporary community leaders for promoting Yadavs in politics and administration.
