RJD begins suspension of Prashant Kishor supporters

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has sent shock waves through its cadre base by suspending five key figures for anti-party activities.

Pawan Bharti of Kahalgaon, Mohd. Aftab Alam of Goradih, Shiv Kumar Sah of Sanhaula, Ajit Kumar and Asha Jaiswal of Sultanganj were the first victims of the RJD’s disciplinary action. All five leaders hold key positions in the RJD’s Bhagalpur unit.

While Ajit Yadav served as the district spokesperson of the party, he also had a good grasp of the RJD’s farmers’ wing. Asha Jaiswal, the only suspended woman leader of the party, was the district president of the RJD’s women’s wing and a member of the district council.

The order was issued on the basis of information provided by CP Yadav, the RJD’s Bhagalpur branch president, who handed over a list of these leaders to Jagadanand Singh, the party’s Bihar branch president.

A few days before these suspensions, Singh had issued a letter urging RJD cadres and leaders not to join Kishor’s JSP. In the letter, Singh claimed that the JSP was the B-team of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He had also indirectly attacked Kishor for the caste family into which he was born.

The letter cited historical figures such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jayaprakash Narayan, Karpoori Thakur, Periyar, Jyotiba Phule and Ram Manohar Lohia.

RJD’s letter on Kishor and JSP was probably the last attempt to inspire loyalty among the party cadres. However, Kishor’s plan is no less tempting. Against RJD’s combination of Muslim Yadav (MY), Kishor is betting on a combination of Muslim and Dalit (MD).

His open speeches in yatra have helped to maintain an upright image. The RJD must suspend or expel its leaders to remain strong.