Gaya: The Janata Dal (United) has suffered a setback in Bihar’s Gaya district after a senior party functionary and long-time associate of chief minister Nitish Kumar resigned, alleging growing factionalism and “power politics” within the organisation.
Dr Chandan Yadav, the JD(U)’s state secretary and a party worker for more than two decades, announced on Wednesday that he was stepping down from his post and relinquishing his primary membership. He made his resignation letter public at a press conference held at his residence in Chandauti.
In the letter, addressed to the party’s state president, Umesh Singh Kushwaha, Yadav accused senior leaders of promoting their own loyalists within both the party structure and the government, while marginalising grassroots workers who had long supported CM Nitish and the JD(U)’s stated ideology.
“Some people sitting at the headquarters have taken control of the organisation and power,” Yadav wrote, adding that without their patronage, party workers were denied responsibilities or access to the leadership.
Yadav said he had worked for the JD(U) since his student days, often at personal risk, including during periods when political activity in Gaya was fraught. “Without fear or greed, I strengthened the organisation, caring neither for my safety nor my property,” he said.
Despite this, he claimed that he and many others who had served the party for years were now being made to feel redundant. He insisted that his decision was not driven by personal grievance but by a belief that he could no longer operate within what he described as a culture of sycophancy and internal power games.
“I cannot be part of this power politics,” he said, asking that his resignation be accepted “with pain”.
During the press conference, Yadav also hinted that more resignations could follow. Political observers in the district described his exit as a significant organisational blow to the JD(U), which has long relied on its cadre base to maintain influence at the local level.
