The ruling Janata Dal (United) in Bihar is battling disunity in its ranks. On Tuesday, the state unit suspended Chief General Secretary Upendra Kushwaha for six years for dissident activities. Kushwaha’s suspension follows the expulsion of three other state leaders. Earlier, two MLAs had also been suspended for dissidence. While Kushwaha is an important leader hailing from the backward caste of the same name that forms the core support group of the JD(U), the three expelled state leaders belonged to upper castes. They were thrown out after they formed an organisation—S-4—and campaigned across the state calling upon the four upper castes to unite and claim their share of power. They were also demanding reservation for economically backward upper castes. However, Kushwaha’s case remains the most significant. Surprisingly, he was suspended a day after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar declared that the doors were open for him to discuss his grievances. Kumar had said so in response to serious allegations levelled by Kushwaha that the Chief Minister was surrounded by “middlemen” and “sycophant.” Though Kushwaha was soft on Kumar, his diatribes were aimed directly at the party’s state president Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh. Responding to a showcause notice slapped by the party for leading a student’s movement demanding reservation for OBC students, Kushwaha charged that the party was playing into the hands of a “feudal middleman.” Reacting to the suspension, Kushwaha said his charges that the party and the Government had been hijacked by middlemen had been proved. “On the one hand the Chief Minister is inviting me for talks and on the other I have been suspended. This shows the helplessness of Kumar,” he alleged. While Kushwaha’s ouster will not have an adverse impact on the state Government, it will certainly cast a shadow on state politics. Action on the leader is sure to annoy his fellow caste men across the state.
