Nitish Kumar re-elected as national president of JDU for three years

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was re-elected as the national president of his Janata Dal (United) party on Wednesday. Nitish had taken over as the JDU national president in 2016 after the party's then chief Sharad Yadav stepped down from the top post following a rift within the party. Kumar will now hold the position for a term of three years. The announcement was made at a meeting of the JD(U) National Council held at Mavalankar Hall in Delhi. Speaking at the meet, Nitish Kumar said that he was not interested in the post but will work towards making JDU a national party.

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The JDU runs a coalition government in Bihar with Bharatiya Janata Party. He contested the 2015 Bihar Assembly elections as part of the grand alliance 'Mahagathbandhan' along with Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal. But the alliance didn't last long and Kumar led his party to realign with BJP in 2017.

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Flak after floods

Nitish Kumar found himself in the middle of heated criticism over the handling of the recent Bihar floods. During the floods that submerged the capital Patna, around 70 people were reported dead and hundreds of crores worth of damage were estimated. While some blamed the poor drainage system in the capital, others said that it was a natural calamity. Nonetheless, Kumar was under heavy scrutiny, which gave the Opposition silver bullets to fire at him.

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The deluge has severely undermined Kumar's popularity in Bihar. The party will face voters in mid-2022. The NDA allies BJP and JDU saw their relations spiral downwards after prominent BJP leaders criticised Kumar and his leadership in the handling of the floods. Amit Shah, aiming to sooth any damage had previously said, “The Janata Dal-United and the BJP will go to polls together and we will fight polls under the leadership of Nitish Ji. This is absolutely clear,” adding that the alliance was "atal" (unbreakable).

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