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3 min readPatnaMay 27, 2026 05:55 AM IST
Former RJD women’s wing head Ritu Jaiswal, who was one of the party’s prominent leaders known for her work as mukhiya of Singhvahini panchayat in Sitamarhi, joined the BJP on Tuesday in the presence of BJP state president Sanjay Saraogi.
Jaiswal (47) shot into the limelight during the period in which she served as Singhvahini panchayat mukhiya between 2016 and 2022, winning multiple national-level awards for her initiatives and reforms. In 2024, she unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha elections on an RJD ticket against JD(U)’s Lovely Anand. Jaiswal had courted controversy during the election campaign for allegedly making anti-upper caste remarks.
In the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, Jaiswal was denied an RJD ticket and contested as an Independent, but lost to the BJP candidate. Her rebellion ensured that RJD could only finish third. This was her second attempt at getting elected to the Assembly, having unsuccessfully contested in 2020 from the Parihar seat.
Welcoming Jaiswal to the party, BJP state president Saraogi said, “Ritu Jaiswal has joined us with a good number of supporters. Her joining will further strengthen the party.”
Jaiswal said she received support from people of all different political ideologies when she contested as an Independent in 2025. “I also realised that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been working for the poor and oppressed, with several welfare schemes such as Ayushman card. It is a new beginning, and I am looking forward to serving the BJP.”
Jaiswal is a graduate married to Arun Kumar, a civil servant who later quit his job to work in Singhvahini panchayat. She left the comfort of Delhi and moved to Sitamarhi, where she took to grassroots leadership. In 2016, she successfully contested the Panchayat election and became a mukhiya. She was instrumental in mobilising local youth and women, establishing vocational training centres such as tailoring and phone repair shops to build self-reliance. She also worked to digitise public data.
Jaiswal got national attention with awards such as the Champion of Change Award (2018), National Panchayat Award (2019) and Ucch Sikshit Adarsh Yuva Sarpanch Award (2016).
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During his political stint with RJD, she served as the party’s spokesperson from 2021 to 2023 and was elevated to the post of RJD women’s cell chief.
Santosh Singh is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express since June 2008. Expertise He covers Bihar with main focus on politics, society and governance. Investigative and explanatory stories are also his forte. Singh has 25 years of experience in print journalism covering Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. ... Read More
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