Nitish Kumar's Rumoured Successor Gets Big JD(U) Post, Former IAS Officer Manish Verma Joined Party Two Days Ago

A couple of days after joining the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)], former IAS officer Manish Kumar Verma was appointed as the party's national general secretary.

This puts him second in line behind JD(U)'s working president and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha in the party. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is the JD(U) national president.

Notably, it was expected that Verma would be given the responsibility of the party general secretary ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.

Verma has earlier served as district magistrates of Patna and Purnia and after taking voluntary retirement from the service (VRS), he served as the additional advisor to the Bihar CM.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Verma was also seen campaigning for the JD(U) but officially, he is a debutant in politics. However, he enjoys Kumar's trust.

What makes Verma cozy to Kumar is his roots in Nalanda, the home district of the Bihar CM, and his affiliation with Kumar's caste, Kurmi.

This fits him in Kumar's 'social engineering' unlike Jha who is a Mithila Brahmin, an upper caste, while the Bihar CM's politics is based on backward classes.