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 and Jharkhand. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Ram Vilas Paswan was an Indian politician from Bihar and the Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs,Food and Public Distribution in the first and second Modi ministries. Paswan was also the president of the Lok Janshakti Party,nine-times Lok Sabha member and two-time Rajya Sabha MP. He started his political career as member of Samyukta Socialist Party and was elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1969. Later,Paswan joined Lok Dal upon its formation in 1974,and became its general secretary. He opposed the emergency,and was arrested during this period. He first entered the Lok Sabha in 1977,as a Janata Party member from Hajipur constituency,and was elected again in 1980,1989,1991,1996,1998,1999,2004 and 2014.
Nitish Kumar is an Indian politician,who is serving as 22nd Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015,having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. 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.
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 ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also has several dynastic leaders. In addition to the major national parties,other national and regional parties such as Shiromani Akali Dal,Shiv Sena,Samajwadi Party,Rashtriya Janata Dal,Janata Dal Secular,Jharkhand Mukti Morcha,Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam,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.
Devendra Prasad Yadav was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Jhanjharpur constituency of Bihar and was a member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal,Janata Dal (United) and Janata Dal.
Alok Kumar Mehta is an Indian politician from the state of Bihar. He is a founder member of Rashtriya Janata Dal and has served as Principal General Secretary of the party. Mehta is said to be political mentor of Tejashwi Yadav.
Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh is an Indian politician and Member of Parliament representing Munger in the 17th Lok Sabha from Janata Dal (United). He is National party president of JDU. He was also the former JD(U) Bihar unit President.
Sharad Yadav was an Indian politician from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) party. He was elected to the Lok Sabha seven times and to the Rajya Sabha four times from JD(U). He was the first national president of Janata Dal (United),serving from its formation in 2003 until 2016. He was disqualified from the Rajya Sabha in 2017 and removed from party leadership positions for engaging in anti-party activities.
Ram Sundar Das was an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Bihar state. He was a two-time Member of Parliament from Hajipur constituency.
Mahabali Singh Kushwaha(born 20 April 1955) is an Indian politician belonging to Bhabua,Kaimur district,Bihar. He was a member of the Indian Parliament,representing Karakat.
Bhola Singh was an Indian politician. He was a member of the Indian Parliament and represented Begusarai which he won on a ticket from the BJP. Before joining the BJP he had been part of almost every political party in Bihar including the Communist Party,the Indian National Congress,and the Rashtriya Janata Dal. Before getting elected to the Indian Parliament he was the Urban Development Minister of Bihar. He was the Deputy Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly from 2000 to 2005. He was a professor in History before getting elected from Begusarai in 1967 as an independent candidate.
Rajo Singh was a politician from Bihar,India. He remained active in the electoral politics at the state and national level for over 50 years.
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 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 Janata Dal due to his political problems with JD(U) and Nitish Kumar.
The list of political families of Bihar state of India:
Renu Kushawaha,an Indian politician,is a leader of Lok Janshakti Party and a former state minister of Bihar. She hails from Khagaria. She has been associated with several political parties in past,right from Samata Party and Janata Dal (United) to Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2015,she contested from Samastipur Assembly seat on a BJP ticket where she lost to RJD candidate.
Shakuni Choudhary Kushwaha is an Indian politician who is a founding member of Samata Party. He was elected to the Lok Sabha,lower house of the Parliament of India from Khagaria Lok Sabha constituency as member of the Samata Party. Choudhary has been known for political defection and has remained Deputy Speaker in the Bihar Legislative Assembly.
Parveen Amanullah is an Indian social activist turned politician. She is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party and had unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Indian general election against BJP Member of Parliament Shatrughan Sinha from the Patna Sahib. Amanullah was elected as a member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 2010 from the Sahebpur Kamal constituency in Begusarai district as a candidate of the Janata Dal (United) after defeating Rashtriya Janata Dal's Shreenarayan Yadav. She became the Social Welfare minister of Bihar in Nitish Kumar's government and held the portfolio until February 2014 when she resigned from JD(U) citing "governance issues" and "lack of work satisfaction". She joined Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party two days later.
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.
Kushwaha is a surname used by people of Koeri caste in Bihar. The Kushwahas are also known as Maurya,Shakya,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,who comprise about 9% of the population of state of Bihar.
