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 and Manipur and is a part of government in both the states. JD(U) heads the government in Bihar and is part of the NDA government in Manipur. JD(U) won 12 seats in the 2024 Indian general election, making it the seventh largest party in the Lok Sabha. JD(U) states that they believe in promoting social justice and lifting up marginalized peoples.
Varmā, Verma, Varman, or Burman are surnames found in India and Southeast Asia. These surnames are commonly used by people of different castes and ethnic groups across the region. The surname is used in North India by and some of the groups among cluster of castes called Kayasthas. However, in the same region along with Central India, it can also be found among castes like Lodhi rajputs, Prajapats, Kurmis and Koeris.
Although India is a parliamentary democracy, the country's politics has become dynastic or with high level of nepotism, possibly due to the absence of party organizations, independent civil-society associations which mobilize support for a party, or centralized financing of elections. The dynastic phenomenon is present at the national, state, regional, and district level. The Nehru–Gandhi family has produced three Indian prime ministers, and family members have largely led the Congress party since 1978. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also has several dynastic leaders. In addition to the major national parties, other national and regional parties such as Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal Secular, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Kerala Congress, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, Indian Union Muslim League, AIMIM, and the Nationalist Congress Party are all dominated by families, mostly those of the party founders.
Gangwar is an Indian surname which is often associated with Kurmi caste of northern India. It is also considered as a sub-caste of the Kurmis. In Uttar Pradesh, they are primarily distributed between Bareilly and Pilibhit district.
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. 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.
Babu Singh Kushwaha is an Indian politician from Uttar Pradesh, serving as chief of the Jan Adhikar Party and former Family Welfare Minister in the Uttar Pradesh government under Mayawati. He was also one of Behenji’s trusted backroom boys, who besides working at the grassroots looked after the party’s administrative affairs. Kushwaha was at the center of controversy in the NRHM scam. In the 2024 Indian general election, he won from the Jaunpur Lok Sabha constituency on the symbol of Samajwadi Party, becoming a member of Lok Sabha for the first time.
Dara Singh Chauhan is an Indian politician, currently serving as member of legislative council, and formerly represented the Madhuban in Uttar Pradesh as a member of Bharatiya Janata Party. He was former Cabinet Minister in Yogi Adityanath ministry. He also represented Ghosi in the 15th Lok Sabha, where he was leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party. In 16th Lok Sabha, he was defeated by Harinarayan Rajbhar who represented Bharatiya Janata Party by more than 140,000 votes.
Hari Kewal Prasad alternatively known as Hari Kewal Prasad Kushwaha was an Indian politician and Member of Parliament for four terms. He was a member of the 9th, 10th, 12th and the 14th Lok Sabhas of India. In all four terms, he represented the Salempur constituency of Uttar Pradesh and was a member of the Samajwadi Party political party before his death. and his son Ravindra Kushwaha is also currently Member of Parliament 2014 till now
Upendra Kumar Singh, 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 Samata Party (RSP), his own party, which merged into Janata Dal (United) (JDU) in 2009. Later, he formed Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), which also merged with JD(U) in 2021. On 20 February 2023, Kushwaha resigned from all positions in Janata Dal (United) and formed his own party called Rashtriya Lok Morcha due to his political problems with JD(U) and Nitish Kumar. Kushwaha contested the Lok Sabha election of 2024 from Karakat constituency and finished at a distant third position. However, he was elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha in August 2024.
Keshav Prasad Maurya is an Indian politician, currently serving as the Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Maurya was associated with a right-wing Hindu organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, before entering active politics through BJP. He was also involved in cow protectionism in his early life. Before 2017 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections, he was made state president of the BJP, and after the victory of BJP, he was appointed Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in the first Yogi Adityanath Government. Maurya again contested the legislative assembly elections in 2022 from Sirathu Assembly constituency, losing to Pallavi Patel of Samajwadi Party. However, he was given a second term as Deputy CM in the second Yogi Adityanath government.
Mahto or Mahato is a surname used by several castes and communities in Nepal and the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha in India. Mahato is also a popular surname among Nepalese Zamindari villages of Madhesh Province where it is a title given to the headman of a village ward and their duties were to maintain peace in his area, and collect revenue for the zamindar. In Chotanagpur plateau region of Jharkhand, including in the Oraon tribal society, Mahato was historically a title of the village chief. In Bihar, the surname Mahto is primarily used by people belonging to Kushwaha caste. While in Jharkhand, it is a term most often associated with Koeri and Kurmi caste.
Swami Prasad Maurya is an Indian politician and was a member of the 17th Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh of India. He represented the Padrauna constituency of Uttar Pradesh. He was a member of Samajwadi Party till 2024 to which he resigned. Maurya has been a Member of the legislative assembly for five terms, has been a minister in the government of Uttar Pradesh, Leader of the house, and Leader of the opposition. He was serving as Cabinet Minister for Labour, Employment and Co-ordination in Yogi Adityanath ministry. Until 2021, he was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party which he joined after a long stint with Bahujan Samaj Party.
Bahoran Lal Maurya is an Indian politician currently serving as MLC and he also served as an MLA in 13th & 17th Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly of Bareilly of Uttar Pradesh State of India. He had represented the Bhojipura constituency of Uttar Pradesh and is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Samrat Choudhary, also known by his alias Rakesh Kumar is an Indian politician, who is currently serving as Deputy Chief minister of Bihar under Nitish Kumar. He is a member of the Bihar Legislative Council from the Bharatiya Janata Party. He has been the party president of BJP Bihar State unit from March 2023 to 25 July 2024. 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, later joining the BJP. In 2022, he was selected as the Leader of Opposition in Bihar Legislative Council. In 2024, he was also made the convener of Group of Ministers on Goods and Service Tax rate rationalisation panel.
The 2024 Indian general election was held in Uttar Pradesh in seven phases from 19 April to 1 June to elect 80 members of the 18th Lok Sabha, with the results declared on 4 June. Bypolls for Dadraul, Lucknow East, Gainsari, and Duddhi assembly constituencies were held alongside this election.
The 2024 Indian general election was held in Bihar in all 7 phases from 19 April to 1 June to elect 40 members of the 18th Lok Sabha, with the results declared on 4 June.
Kushwaha is a surname used by people of Koeri caste in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The Kushwahas are also known as Maurya, Shakya, or Saini in various parts of north India. As per one opinion, the Kushwaha surname is also common among members of Kachhi caste, who later merged with the Koeris to become a single homogeneous community. They are a dominant OBC community in the state of Bihar.
Shakya is an Indian surname and is part of the broader Kushwaha community including other surnames like Maurya, Kachhi, Saini, Koeri etc, who collectively assert descent from Kusha, a son of the avatar of Vishnu, Rama. This caste group is considered as one of the most numerous OBC castes in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It is estimated that they are distributed across the states, in almost all assembly constituencies. In Uttar Pradesh, they have preponderance in Etah Lok Sabha constituency.
Saini is an Indian surname, used by various communities in North India. In Uttar Pradesh, it is used by people of Kushwaha or the Koeri caste. In Rajasthan and Haryana, it is most often associated with Mali caste. Saini is also a community of Punjab, included in state's list of Other Backward Class from 2016 onwards. In Haryana term Saini is considered synonymous with other terms such as Koeri, Kushwaha, Maurya and Shakya, all included in state's list of Backward Castes.
Shobha Rani Kushwaha is an Indian politician and a member of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Dholpur Assembly constituency. She was elected from Dholpur constituency in 2017 bypolls and consecutively in 2018 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly elections, as a candidate of Bharatiya Janata Party. Her husband Banwari Lal Kushwaha preceded her as MLA from Dholpur constituency in 2013 Assembly elections. She was expelled from Bharatiya Janata Party after it was revealed that she had done cross voting in favour of Indian National Congress candidate in Rajya Sabha election from Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. She is considered as a close accomplice of former Rajasthan Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje. She switched to Indian National Congress in 2023 and retained the Dholpur seat in 2023 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election.
