Mangani Lal Mandal poised to take charge as Bihar RJD chief

Veteran socialist leader Mangani Lal Mandal, 76, on Saturday filed his nomination papers and is poised to become the new State president of the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).  | Photo Credit: RANJEET KUMAR

Veteran socialist leader Mangani Lal Mandal, 76, on Saturday (June 14, 2025) filed his nomination papers and is poised to become the new State president of the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly Tejashwi Prasad Yadav accompanied Mr. Mandal during the submission of his nomination at the party headquarters.

RJD president Lalu Prasad, Rajya Sabha MP Misa Bharti, and several senior party leaders were also present on the occasion. Mr. Mandal is expected to be elected unopposed, as no other nomination was filed for the post on Saturday.

He is set to succeed incumbent State president Jagdanand Singh, who has been serving in the position since November 2019 and is reportedly in ill health. The RJD is scheduled to formally announce the new State president on June 19 at Gyan Bhawan in Patna.

Mr. Mandal belongs to the Extremely Backward Class (EBC) community, which, as per the 2022 caste survey, constitutes over 36% of Bihar’s population. He hails from the Mithilanchal region in north Bihar.

Describing Mr. Mandal as an “experienced politician”, Mr. Tejashwi Yadav said, “He raised voices of the people and has worked with my father (Lalu Prasad) for several years. He has played a big role in taking socialist politics forward.”

RJD spokesperson and former MLA Shakti Yadav said the party had chosen Mr. Mandal “because of his long political experience, socialist ideology, and also because he comes from the weaker EBC section of the society. He will strengthen our party organisation.”

Mr. Mandal had earlier been associated with the RJD for a long time before joining the Janata Dal (United). After being denied a party ticket for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he returned to the RJD in January this year.

He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Jhanjharpur in 2009 on a JD(U) ticket. In 2014, he contested the general elections on an RJD ticket but was unsuccessful. He subsequently rejoined the JD(U) in 2019 and was appointed its national vice-president. Following the denial of a ticket in 2024, he resigned from the JD(U) and re-entered the RJD fold.

Over his decades-long political career, Mr. Mandal has served as a member of the Bihar Legislative Council from 1986 to 2004, held Ministerial portfolios in previous RJD governments, and was a Rajya Sabha MP from 2004 to 2009.

Published - June 14, 2025 05:56 pm IST