Madan Mohan Jha named Bihar Congress chief

PATNA

: Senior Congress leader and former minister

Madan Mohan Jha

was on Tuesday appointed new president of Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC).


Congress President Rahul Gandhi made the appointment. The post of BPCC chief was vacant after removal of Ashok Choudhary on September 26 last year. After Choudhary’s removal, Kaukab Quadri, the then BPCC vice-president, had been asked to work as “In-charge president” till appointment of a regular state chief.

With appointment of Jha, a Brahmin leader has returned on the post of BPCC chief after a gap of 26 years. Prior to Jha, former CM Jagannath Mishra who has now been convicted in few cases of fodder scam, was appointed the BPCC chief in 1991. Mishra continued on the post till 1992. Jha, currently an MLC from Darbhanga teachers’ constituency, is son of Mishra’a arch rival in Mithilanchal politics and former education minister Nagendra Jha.

Besides appointing Jha, Gandhi also restructured the state Congress Committee by notifying four other senior party leaders as ‘working presidents’ and constituting a 23-member working committee for the BPCC.

The newly appointed working presidents are BPCC’s in-charge president Quadri, former CLP leader Ashok Kumar, Samir Kumar Singh and Shyam Sunder Singh Dheeraj.

The party’s lone Rajya Sabha member from the state

Akhilesh Prasad Singh

, who was being considered as one of the frontrunners for the BPCC chief post, has been made the chairman of the BPCC’s campaign committee. He will be in-charge of the party’s campaign in the state.

In these six important appointments in the BPCC, no backward leader could find place. Of the six appointees, four hail from upper caste, one from upper caste Muslim and one from scheduled caste.

“By these appointments, Congress want to regain its traditional vote bank of upper caste, Muslims and scheduled castes,” a political analyst said.

In the 23-member state working committee, only four backward leaders—Prayag Kushwaha, Praveen Kushwaha, Chandan Yadav and Kailash Pal- have find place. Of the rest 19 members—11 hail from upper castes, three from upper caste Muslim and five form scheduled castes.

Besides, a 19-member advisory committee comprising senior leaders like former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar, former governor Nikhil Kumar, CLP leader Sadanand Singh, former union minister K K Tiwari, has also been constituted.

Contacted, Jha—who currently represents Darbhanga teachers’ constituency in the council—thanked the party president Rahul Gandhi and AICC incharge for Bihar Shaktising Gohil for bestowing him the responsibility to lead the party in politically sensitive state. “I will try to take along everyone in the party,” he said.

On being asked about his two predecessors- Ashok Choudhary and Mehboob Ali Kaisar who left the Congress after removal from the BPCC chief post; Jha said, “I hail from a family of Congress leader. We are congressmen for life.” Jha had earlier represented Manigachhi assembly seat in Bihar assembly.