Umesh Kushwaha is new Bihar JD(U) president

Former legislator Umesh Kushwaha wason Sunday unanimously elected as the Janata Dal (United) Biharunit president, in a bid to strengthen the ruling party's old''Luv-Kush'' support base.

Election of Kushwaha, a former party MLA from Mahnarassembly constituency in Vaishali district, was ratified atthe partys state council meeting here.

''Party's Bihar unit Chief Bashishtha Narayan Singh proposedname of Kushwaha for partys state president post which wasunanimously approved by members present in the meeting,''senior leader and MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh toldreporters here at a press conference in the party office.

Choice of Umesh Kushwaha signals the ruling party goingback to its original support base of ''Luv-Kush'' (OBC Kurmi andKushwaha castes combination).

Since 2005 when the JD(U)-BJP together uprooted RJD fromthe power in Bihar, Kumar himself a Kurmi by caste has beenleveraging Luv-Kush equation to corner major portion of non-Yadav OBC castes in the Bihar poliotics.

Yadavs form bulk of the OBC votes in Bihar politics atnearly 14 percent. But, kumar by bringing together two otherOBC castes of Kumri and Kushwaha increased his base to around12-14 per cent, to counter Lalu Prasad.

Election of 46-year-old Kushwaha also reflects party goingfor young leadership apparently to blunt the attack ofTejashwi Yadav of the RJD and Chirag Paswan who heads LokJanshakti Party.

Kushwaha succeeds septuagenarian Bashishtha Narayan Singhas the JD(U) Bihar unit president.

Recently, Kumar himself stepped down as the JD(U) nationalpresident and named his close confidant RCP Singh as hissuccessor.

Kushwaha contested the 2020 assembly elections on JD(U)ticket from Mahnar assembly constituency but lost to the RJDcandidate.

He had won the 2015 state polls from the same Mahnar seatdefeating his BJP rival then.

Lalan Singh was talking to reporters on the decisions takenat the meeting of state executive and state council in thepast two days.

Singh said that Bashishtha Narayan Singh expressed hiswillingness to be relieved of the party chief's responsibilityand proposed Kushwaha's name for the post which was approvedby the state council.

Singh said that he will continue to guide the party as''Margdarshak'', Singh, the JD(U)'s leader in Lok Sabha, said.

Speaking on the occasion, the newly elected statepresident, thanked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and party'snational president RCP Singh for posing faith in him andasserted that he would try to live upto their expectations byworking hard to strengthen the party.

Kushwaha said youths will be given opportunity in theparty whose organisational structure will further bestrengthened upto village level.