When Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appointed Sanjay Kumar Jha as the national working president of JD (U), many within and outside the party questioned the decision. With no dynastic background, Jha was seen by critics as a risky choice. Yet, Nitish remained resolute. As the NDA celebrates a resounding win in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, Jha’s unconventional leadership stands vindicated.
Throughout the campaign, Rajya Sabha MP and now a force to be reckoned with in Bihar politics, Sanjay Jha was subjected to relentless personal and political attacks. From being branded an agent of the BJP to being accused of plotting a merger of the JD (U) into the saffron party, the Opposition painted him as a usurper.
Jha never took the bait. He remained composed, reiterating his unwavering loyalty to Nitish Kumar and steering clear of personal mudslinging. “Every decision is being taken with the Chief Minister’s full consent,” he would calmly assert in interviews, subtly shifting the spotlight back to JD(U)’s collective leadership.
Behind this stoicism was a leader deeply engaged in the nuts and bolts of electioneering. Jha oversaw ticket distribution with an eye not just on caste equations but on local credibility and performance. Bypassing conventional templates, he chose fresh faces and pragmatic alliances that reinvigorated JD(U)’s presence at the grassroots. His strategy focused on showcasing Bihar’s two-decade-long development journey under Nitish Kumar and laying out a vision for the next five years - industrial hubs in every district, better job opportunities, and steps to curb outmigration.
Where others got mired in rhetoric, Jha stuck to results. Whether in media debates or on the campaign trail, his message remained clear: development, not distraction, was the agenda. That disciplined messaging helped neutralise the opposition’s barbs, including concerns around Nitish Kumar’s health.
In many ways, Jha epitomised a new kind of political operative-measured, modern, and mission-driven. While Nitish Kumar remains the face of the mandate, Jha has emerged as the silent architect of the NDA’s success in Bihar. As votes are counted and verdicts analysed, his rise from a low-profile loyalist to the party’s strategic spearhead marks a turning point in Bihar’s political narrative.
