Bihar Assembly Election: Nitish Kumar suffers big setback as senior and influential JD(U) MPs and MLAs join RJD; they are…

New Delhi: Ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his party, the Janata Dal (United) JD(U), have suffered a major setback. Several prominent leaders, including former MPs and MLAs, joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Friday, 10 October 2025, in the presence of Tejashwi Yadav. The most interesting story of the split within the JD(U) has emerged from Banka, where the son of the current MP, Girdhari Yadav, has also joined the RJD. This means that the father is an MP from Nitish’s party, but the son has joined Tejashwi.

What did Tejashwi say?

Tejashwi Yadav held a press conference in Patna, the capital of Bihar, announcing the joining of these individuals to his party. During the press conference, Tejashwi Yadav stated that the Bihar government is being run not by Nitish Kumar but by senior BJP leaders sitting in Delhi. Those who worked hard for JD(U) are not getting the respect they deserve.

Tejashwi said, “Those who nurtured the JD(U) are no longer respected in the party.”

BJP is destroying JD(U): Tejashwi Yadav

He further said that the BJP is working to destroy the JD(U). Last time, when Nitish Kumar realised this, he joined us. Then, for a few days, we ran the government together, but now our uncle has been hijacked. After this, he introduced the leaders who joined the RJD.

Who has joined RJD?

• Chanakya Prakash, son of JD(U) MP Girdhari Yadav (from Banka).
• Santosh Kushwaha: A prominent figure in Seemanchal, likely to contest against Leshi Singh
• Ajay Kushwaha, who last contested the assembly elections from Vaishali on an LJP ticket.
• Rahul Sharma, son of Jagdish Sharma, a senior JDU leader, from Ghosi, Jehanabad.
• Chanakya Prakash: Father Girdhari Yadav is a JDU MP; son joins the RJD.

Strengths of the turncoats

Santosh Kushwaha is a former MP from Purnia. He was previously with the BJP. In 2013, he left the BJP and joined the JDU. He then served two terms as an MP from Purnia. He has considerable influence in Seemanchal. He defeated Pappu Yadav in Purnia. This time, he may contest against Minister Leshi Singh.

Ajay Kushwaha contested the Vaishali seat on a Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) ticket in the last assembly elections. He showed considerable influence at the time but failed to win. Now, with his joining the RJD, the political equations could change completely.

Rahul Sharma: Son of Jagdish Sharma, a prominent JDU leader, now in the RJD

The fourth prominent figure to join the RJD in Tejashwi’s presence on Friday was Rahul Sharma. Rahul Sharma is the son of Jagdish Sharma, a prominent JDU leader. His father was a prominent JDU leader from Jehanabad. Dr. Jagdish Sharma has served as an MLA from Ghosi six times and a Member of Parliament from Jehanabad once. His wife, Shanti Sharma, and son, Rahul Kumar, have also served as MLAs from Ghosi.