Nitish Kumar all set to be elected as JD(U) national president for second consecutive term

PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is all set to be elected unopposed as the JD(U) national president for the second consecutive term as no other party leader filed nomination for the post on Friday, the last day for filing nomination papers.
“Today was the last day for filing nomination papers for the post of national president. Except Nitish Kumar, no other leader filed nomination papers till 5 pm this evening.Scrutiny of nomination will be held on October 5 and October 6 is the last day for withdrawal of nomination. If Nitish Kumar does not withdraw his nomination by October 6 and his papers are found valid during scrutiny, he will be “elected unopposed” by the evening of October 6,” the party’s national general secretary Afaque Ahmad Khan told TOI over phone.
However, the formal announcement about the election of new president would be made at the party’s national council meet, Khan said.
“The JD(U) national council meet was earlier scheduled to be held at Rajgir (Bihar) on October 19 and 20. But it was deferred due to the ongoing by-polls on five assembly and one Lok Sabha seat in Bihar. Now, there is a possibility of the national council meet being organized in New Delhi on October 30,” the party’s state general secretary (headquarters) Navin Kumar Arya told TOI.
Earlier in the day, Nitish Kumar filed his nomination papers in four sets. Several party MPs and state presidents proposed his name. As the Bihar CM personally could not go to Delhi due to flood in several districts of the state, his representative and party MLC Sanjay Kumar Singh alias Gandhi Jee on Friday reached the JD(U)’s national office in Delhi and submitted his nomination papers to the party’s national election officer Anil Hegde.
Besides Khan, Yuva JD(U) national president Sanjay Kumar, party’s Bihar state returning officer Mrityunjay Kumar Singh and its Delhi state president Dayanand Singh were present on the occasion.
Earlier in April 2016, Nitish was elected as JD(U) president, replacing former Union minister Sharad Yadav. His unanimous election to the top post at the party's national executive meeting on April 10, 2016, brought an end to the decade-old tenure of Sharad Yadav, who had ruled himself out for a fourth term.
JD(U)’s previous two presidents--George Fernandes and Sharad Yadav-- were from outside Bihar.