Over 300 JD-U leaders, workers resign

Patna, Dec 27 (IANS) More than 300 leaders and workers of the ruling Janata Dal-United in Bihar on Wednesday resigned from the party in support of senior party leader Uday Narain Choudhary who has revolted against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Most of the workers, including three block unit heads, resigned from the primary membership of the party in Maoist-affected Imamganj assembly constituency in Gaya district, considered a stronghold of Dalit leader Choudhary, said a leader close to him.

This comes a day after Choudhary, former Speaker of Bihar Assembly, openly expressed his support for Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, the main political rival of Nitish Kumar.

Lalu Prasad is currently lodged in a jail in Jharkhand’s Ranchi after being convicted in a fodder scam case by a court last week.

In last three months, Choudhary has repeatedly attacked his own party government in the state and targeted Nitish Kumar, who is also the party President.

However, JD-U senior leader R.C.P. Singh, known as the eyes and ears of Nitish Kumar, said that party will not issue notice to Choudhary and there is no decision to take action against him.

“It will be a wastage of paper to issue notice to him,” he said.

In last assembly polls in 2015, Choudhary was defeated by former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi in Imamganj assembly seat after which he was sidelined.

But after Nitish Kumar dumped the RJD and the Congress to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form the government in July, he has publicly rebelled against the Chief Minister.