In a major crackdown on internal dissent ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar&rsquo;s Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] expelled 16 leaders, including a sitting MLA and two former ministers, for alleged &ldquo;anti-party activities&rdquo; and defying the party&rsquo;s ideology.
The expulsions, announced through two separate communications on Saturday (October 25) and Sunday (October 26), targeted those who were contesting against official National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidates.
Among those expelled is Narendra Niraj, also known as Gopal Mandal, the sitting MLA from Gopalpur in Bhagalpur district. 
Mr. Mandal had staged a protest outside the Chief Minister&rsquo;s residence in Patna after learning that he was being dropped from the party&rsquo;s candidate list. 
Despite being detained by police and hoping for reconsideration, he filed his nomination as an Independent candidate when the JD(U) ticket for Gopalpur went to Bulo Mandal, a former RJD leader.
Other expelled leaders include Sanjeev Shyam Singh, a former MLC contesting the Gurua seat in Gaya district under Prashant Kishor&rsquo;s Jan Suraaj Party, and former Minister Himraj Singh, who is running as an Independent from Katihar.
The party also dismissed Maheshwar Prasad Yadav, a former MLA from Gaighat in Muzaffarpur, and his aide Prabhat Kiran. 
Both had voiced their displeasure after the JD(U) nominated Komal Singh&mdash;a newcomer whose father is a party MLC and mother is a Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP&mdash;for the constituency.
Earlier, JD(U) had expelled 11 other leaders, including former Minister Shailesh Kumar, who is contesting as an Independent from Jamalpur in Munger against the party&rsquo;s official candidate Nachiketa Mandal, son of former MP Brahmanand Mandal.
Former MLAs Shyam Bahadur Singh and Sudharshan Kumar, along with ex-MLCs Sanjay Prasad and Ranvijay Singh, were also among those removed from the party.
&ldquo;These expelled leaders were working against the officially declared candidates of the party and other NDA constituents. They were defying our ideology,&rdquo; a senior JD(U) leader said.
The 243-member Bihar Assembly will go to polls in two phases&mdash;on November 6 and November 11&mdash;with results scheduled to be declared on November 14.

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JD(U) expels 16 leaders, including MLA, ahead of crucial Bihar Assembly polls

JD(U) Expels 16 Rebel Leaders In Bihar

JD(U) expels 16 leaders, including MLA, ahead of crucial Bihar Assembly polls

October 27, 2025 | 09:21 IST