Patna: Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal (United) is set to undergo a significant organisational overhaul next month, with internal elections scheduled from the block level to the state leadership. The process, approved by the Bihar election authorities, will culminate in the election of a new state president on March 8, followed by the selection of the party’s national president.
The internal polls will begin on February 20 with elections at the block level, continuing until February 23. District-level chiefs will be elected on 1 March. According to Professor Janardan Prasad Sinha, a former election officer who has supervised the party’s organisational polls multiple times, the timeline has been formally cleared by the Bihar Election Commission to ensure a structured and transparent process.
Sinha said the party remains committed to democratic functioning within its ranks. “JD(U) is a democratic party. While many organisations avoid internal contests fearing disputes, we prefer consensus. Differences of opinion are natural, but there should be no division within the party,” he said, adding that the leadership aims to conduct the elections peacefully and without factionalism.
Political activity inside the party has intensified in the run-up to the vote. Meetings are being held between national working president Sanjay Jha, state president Umesh Kushwaha and senior leaders to finalise logistics and maintain fairness. Satish Kumar, the party’s in-charge for Gopalganj and a former member of the legislative council, said officials had been given clear instructions by both national and state election authorities to complete the process on time.
Alongside the elections, JD(U) is pushing an ambitious membership drive. The party has set a target of enrolling one crore members for the 2025–2028 period. So far, around 70 lakh members have been registered. Senior leader and MLC Sanjay Gandhi expressed confidence that the target would be achieved, noting that the cadre remains actively engaged across districts.
The party traditionally holds organisational elections every three years, following Election Commission guidelines. With the upcoming polls expected to bring leadership changes from the grassroots to the top tier, JD(U) leaders say the exercise is aimed at strengthening the party structure ahead of future political challenges. The membership drive will continue until February 12, and all newly enrolled primary members will be eligible to participate in the voting process.
