Janata Dal (United) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Janata Dal (United)
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| Abbreviation | JD(U) |
| Leader | Nitish Kumar |
| President | Nitish Kumar |
| Chairperson | Nitish Kumar |
| Lok Sabha leader | Lalan Singh |
| Rajya Sabha leader | Ram Nath Thakur |
| Founder | |
| Founded | 30 October 2003 |
| Merger of |
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| Headquarters | 7, Jantar Mantar Road, New Delhi, India-110001 |
| Newspaper | JD(U) Sandesh |
| Student wing | Chhatra JDU |
| Youth wing | Yuva JDU |
| Women's wing | Mahila JDU |
| Ideology |
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| ECI Status | Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur (State Party) |
| Alliance |
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| National convener | Nitish Kumar |
| Seats in Lok Sabha |
12 / 543
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| Seats in Rajya Sabha |
4 / 245
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| Seats in State Legislative Assemblies |
List
44 / 243
(Bihar Legislative Assembly)22 / 75
(Bihar Legislative Council)1 / 60
(Manipur Legislative Assembly) |
| Number of states and union territories in government |
2 / 31
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| Election symbol | |
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| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
| jdu.org.in | |
The Janata Dal (United), often called JD(U), is a political party in India. Its name means "People's Party (United)". It is mostly active in eastern and north-eastern parts of India. The JD(U) is recognized as a state party in Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, and Manipur. It is currently part of the government in Bihar. The party believes in promoting social justice and helping people who are often left behind.
The Janata Dal (United) was formed on October 30, 2003. It was created when different groups from the Janata Dal party, along with the Lok Shakti Party and the Samata Party, decided to join together. The party's symbol is an arrow, and its flag is green and white. The party's main leader and guide was the experienced politician George Fernandes. Currently, JD(U) is part of the National Democratic Alliance.
Contents
History
How the Party Started
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The Janata Dal (United) has roots going back to before the 1999 General Election. At that time, a part of the original Janata Dal party supported the National Democratic Alliance. This caused the Janata Dal to split into two groups. One group became Janata Dal (Secular), and the other, led by Sharad Yadav, was called Janata Dal (United).
On October 30, 2003, the Janata Dal (United) was officially formed. This happened when Sharad Yadav's group, the Lok Shakti party, and the Samata Party merged. The leaders George Fernandes and Nitish Kumar were key figures in this merger. They all came together because they shared a common goal: to oppose the Rashtriya Janata Dal party in Bihar.
Working with Alliances
The JD(U) joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Together with its partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), they won the election in Bihar in November 2005. Nitish Kumar, a JD(U) leader, became the Chief Minister of Bihar. The alliance continued to govern the state.
In the 2009 national election, the alliance won 32 seats. JD(U) won 20 of these seats. In the 2010 Bihar state election, JD(U) won 115 seats and BJP won 91 seats. This gave them a strong majority in the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly.
Leaving the Alliance
The JD(U) ended its 17-year alliance with the BJP in Bihar on June 16, 2013. This decision was made because Narendra Modi was chosen to lead the BJP's election campaign. JD(U) leaders Sharad Yadav and Nitish Kumar announced the split. After this, Sharad Yadav stepped down from his role as the NDA convenor.
In the 2014 national election, JD(U) teamed up with the Communist Party of India. However, they only won two seats in Bihar. The BJP and Lok Jan Shakti Party alliance won 31 seats. After this poor result, Nitish Kumar resigned as Chief Minister. Jitan Ram Manjhi then became the new Chief Minister. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supported JD(U) to help them keep their majority in the assembly.
The Grand Alliance
On December 29, 2014, a party from Kerala, the Socialist Janata (Democratic), joined with the JD(U). This was a step towards making JD(U) more known across India, not just in Bihar.
On April 14, 2015, several parties, including JD(U), Janata Dal (Secular), Rashtriya Janata Dal, and others, announced they would merge. They planned to form a new "Janata Parivar" alliance to challenge the BJP. However, this full merger did not happen. The Samajwadi Party later left this group before the Bihar elections.
In May 2015, MLA Jitan Ram Manjhi was removed from the JD(U). He then started his own party, the Hindustani Awam Morcha.
For the 2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, JD(U) formed a "Grand Alliance" (Mahagathbandhan) with the RJD and Congress. This alliance won 178 out of 243 seats. JD(U) itself won 71 seats. After this victory, Nitish Kumar became the Chief Minister of Bihar again.
Joining NDA Again
On July 26, 2017, Nitish Kumar resigned as Chief Minister of Bihar. This ended the 20-month rule of the "Grand Alliance". The very next day, on July 27, 2017, he took the oath again as Chief Minister. This time, he had the support of the BJP. The new NDA government won a vote of confidence in the Bihar assembly on July 28, 2017.
Leaving NDA Again
On August 9, 2022, Nitish Kumar announced that JD(U)'s alliance with the BJP in the Bihar Legislative Assembly was over. He then formed a new government in Bihar. This new government was a coalition of nine parties, including the RJD and the Indian National Congress. He called this new alliance "Mahagathgandhan 2.0."
Changes After 2020 Elections
The JD(U) faced challenges in the 2020 Assembly elections. Its number of seats in the Bihar Legislative Assembly dropped from 75 in 2015 to 43. To strengthen the party, JD(U) made several changes. They appointed Ramchandra Prasad Singh as the national president and Umesh Kushwaha as the state president. The party also worked to bring back a group led by Upendra Kushwaha, which had split from JD(U) in 2013. After this group rejoined, Upendra Kushwaha became the president of the party's parliamentary board.
How the Party Performed in Elections
These tables show how the Janata Dal (United) has performed in national (Lok Sabha) and state (Assembly) elections over the years.
Lok Sabha Elections
| Lok Sabha | Election | Seats contested |
Seats won |
Votes Polled | % of votes |
State (seats) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14th Lok Sabha | 2004 | 73 | 8 | 91,44,963 | 2.53 | Bihar (6) Lakshadweep(1) Uttar Pradesh(1) |
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| 15th Lok Sabha | 2009 | 27 | 20 | 59,36,786 | 1.5 | Bihar (20) | |
| 16th Lok Sabha | 2014 | 93 | 2 | 59,92,281 | 1.08 | Bihar (2) | |
| 17th Lok Sabha | 2019 | 24 | 16 | 89,26,679 | 1.45 | Bihar(16) | [1] |
| 18th Lok Sabha | 2024 | 16 | 12 | 80,25,000 | 1.25 | Bihar(16) |
State Assembly Elections
| Vidhan Sabha | Assembly Election | Seats Contested | Seats Won | % of votes | % of votes in seats contested |
Party Votes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bihar Legislative Assembly | |||||||
| 12th Vidhan Sabha | 2005 February | 138 | 55 | 14.55 | 26.41 | 3,564,930 | |
| 13th Vidhan Sabha | 2005 October | 139 | 88 | 20.46 | 37.41 | 4,819,759 | |
| 14th Vidhan Sabha | 2010 | 144 | 115 | 22.58 | 38.77 | 6,561,906 | |
| 15th Vidhan Sabha | 2015 | 101 | 71 | 16.8 | 40.65 | 6,416,414 | |
| 16th Vidhan Sabha | 2020 | 115 | 43 | 15.39 | 32.83 | 6,485,179 | |
| Jharkhand Legislative Assembly | |||||||
| 2nd Vidhan Sabha | 2005 | 18 | 6 | 4.0 | |||
| 3rd Vidhan Sabha | 2009 | 14 | 2 | 2.78 | 285,565 | ||
| 4th Vidhan Sabha | 2014 | 11 | 0 | 0.96 | 133815 | ||
| 5th Vidhan Sabha | 2019 | 45 | 0 | 0.73 | 110120 | ||
| Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly | |||||||
| 7th | 2019 | 14 | 7 | 9.89 | 61,324 | ||
| Manipur Legislative Assembly | |||||||
| 13th | 2022 | 38 | 6 | 10.77 | 200,100 | ||
Important Leaders
Here are some of the key people in the Janata Dal (United) party:
- Nitish Kumar: He is the National President of the party and the Chief Minister of Bihar.
- Rajiv Ranjan Singh: A Member of Parliament and former Bihar JD(U) President.
- Umesh Kushwaha: The current Bihar state President of Janata Dal (United).
- Ramsewak Singh Kushwaha: A National General Secretary.
- Santosh Kumar Kushwaha: Another National General Secretary.
- Kushwaha Ramkumar Sharma: Also a National General Secretary.
- Shri Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha: Another National General Secretary.
- K.C. Tyagi: A Special Advisor and National Spokesperson for the party.
- Vijay Kumar Chaudhary: Former Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly.
- Harivansh Narayan Singh: The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha since 2018.
- Bashistha Narain Singh: A Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha.
- Ram Nath Thakur: The JD(U) Party leader in Rajya Sabha.
- Bijendra Prasad Yadav: A Minister in the Government of Bihar.
Chief Ministers from JD(U)
Chief Ministers of Bihar
This table shows the leaders from JD(U) who have served as Chief Minister of Bihar.
| No | Name | Constituency | Term of office | Tenure length | Assembly | Ministry | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nitish Kumar | MLC | 24 November 2005 | 26 November 2010 | 8 years, 177 days | 14th | Nitish Kumar II |
| 26 November 2010 | 20 May 2014 | 15th | Nitish Kumar III | ||||
| 2 | Jitan Ram Manjhi | Makhdumpur | 20 May 2014 | 22 February 2015 | 278 days | Manjhi | |
| (1) | Nitish Kumar | MLC | 22 February 2015 | 20 November 2015 | 10 years, 160 days | Nitish Kumar IV | |
| 20 November 2015 | 26 July 2017 | 16th | Nitish Kumar V | ||||
| 26 July 2017 | 16 November 2020 | Nitish Kumar VI | |||||
| 16 November 2020 | 9 August 2022 | 17th | Nitish Kumar VII | ||||
| 9 August 2022 | Incumbent | Nitish Kumar VIII |
Party Presidents
This table lists the National Presidents of the Janata Dal (United) party.
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term in office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | |||
| 1 |  |
Sharad Yadav (1947–2023) |
30 October 2003 | 10 April 2016 | 12 years, 163 days |
| 2 |  |
Nitish Kumar (b.1951) |
10 April 2016 | 27 December 2020 | 4 years, 261 days |
| 3 |  |
Ramchandra Prasad Singh (b.1958) |
27 December 2020 | 6 July 2022 | 1 year, 191 days |
| 4 | .jpeg) |
Lalan Singh (b.1955) |
31 July 2021 | 29 December 2023 | 2 years, 151 days |
| (2) | |
Nitish Kumar (b.1951) |
29 December 2023 | Incumbent | 1 year, 215 days |
More to Explore
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- List of political parties in India
