RJD Begins Suspension Of Prashant Kishor Loyalists

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has sent shockwaves through its cadre base by suspending five key leaders for anti-party activities.

Pawan Bharti of Kahalgaon, Mohd. Aftab Alam of Goradih, Shiv Kumar Sah of Sanhaula, Ajit Kumar and Asha Jaiswal of Sultanganj became the first batch of victims of RJD’s disciplinary action. All five leaders hold key positions in the Bhagalpur unit of RJD.

While Ajit Yadav was serving as district spokesperson of the party, he also had a good command over the farmers' wing of RJD. Asha Jaiswal, the lone suspended woman leader, has served as the district president of the RJD Women wing and as a member of the district council

The order was passed based on the input from CP Yadav, head of the Bhagalpur unit of RJD, who gave a list of these leaders to Jagadanand Singh, President of the Bihar unit of the party.

The order signed by Singh mentioned that by aligning with the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP), these leaders have tarnished the image of RJD. JSP is facilitated by renowned poll strategist Prashant Kishor.

A few days before these suspensions, Singh had released a letter asking RJD cadre and leaders to not join Kishor’s JSP. In the letter, Singh alleged that JSP is the B-team of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He had also indirectly attacked Kishor for the caste family in which he was born.

The letter invoked historical figures like Mahatma Gandhi, Jayaprakash Narayan, Karpoori Thakur, Periyar, Jyotiba Phule, and Ram Manohar Lohia.

RJD’s letter about Kishor and JSP was probably the last resort for invoking enthusiasm for loyalty among the party cadre. However, Kishor’s plan is also no less appealing. Against RJD’s Muslim Yadav (M-Y) combination, Kishor is proceeding with Muslim-Dalit (M-D) combination.

Also, his straightforward talks in yatras have helped keep an upright image. RJD has to suspend or expel its leaders to keep looking strong.