Nitish's JDU Finalises Strategy For 2025 Assembly Polls, Seeks 'Special Status Or Package' For Bihar

Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal-United on Saturday passed a resolution seeking ‘special category’ status for Bihar. The resolution was taken up during the national executive meeting of the party in Delhi.

In the meeting, the Bihar Chief Minister pledged to advocate for special category status for the state, a demand which has been raised by the party several times in the past

This push for special category status is particularly noteworthy as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP depends on support from Kumar’s JD(U), which holds 12 seats in the newly elected Lok Sabha, to stay in power at the Centre.

This comes after the Bihar Cabinet passed a resolution demanding special status for the state last year.

Special Status or Package: What are JDU’s Demand For Bihar

Sources revealed that the long-standing demand for a special status for Bihar was reiterated in the political proposal presented during the meeting. if not special status, then a special financial package for the state may also be sought by Nitish Kumar’s party.

The party also sought that the central government incorporate the higher reservation for the Other Backward Classes, Extremely Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes in the Ninth Schedule.

This demand comes even after the Patna High Court invalidated the Bihar government’s decision to implement a 65 per cent quota for backward classes, which was based on the state’s inaugural caste survey.

JDU’s Strategy For 2025 Assembly Polls

The JDU National Meet was called to review the current political scenario and preparations for the upcoming Bihar assembly polls due in 2025.

The party said for the 2025 elections, there should be flawless coordination with party officials at all levels of the organisation and continuous communication with workers, which helped JDU score better in Lok Sabha polls as well.

The party also decided that JDU candidates will contest elections in all the states where assembly polls will be held in 2025 and names of 5 to 10 workers would be decided in advance for each booth.

Earlier in the meeting, the party appointed Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha as the JDU’s working president while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would continue to be the national president.