Former Jehanabad MP and senior leader Dr. Arun Kumar, along with his son Rituraj Kumar and several prominent leaders, rejoined the JD(U) on Saturday.
His ‘homecoming’ is seen as a strategic move to fill the vacuum left by Jagdish Sharma, a major Bhumihar community leader in the Magadh region, who, along with his son Rahul Sharma, joined the RJD on Friday.
The party’s National Executive President and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha formally inducted them into the JD(U) by granting them primary membership. Jha stated that Dr. Arun Kumar’s return would strengthen the NDA and offer a significant boost in the upcoming Assembly elections.
A prominent figure within the Bhumihar community, Arun Kumar has long maintained a strong political base in the Magadh region and played a key role in the formation of the Samata Party, originally launched by Nitish Kumar and George Fernandes.
His return is widely seen as a direct response to the defection of Jagdish Sharma, another Bhumihar heavyweight from Magadh. The RJD is expected to field Rahul Sharma from the Ghosi Assembly seat, further raising the stakes in the region.
The NDA, particularly the BJP and JD(U), has been on edge following Tejashwi Yadav’s outreach to the Bhumihar community. The RJD’s ‘Bhumihar card’ created enough concern within JD(U) to accelerate Arun Kumar’s return, especially after his reentry was stalled last month.
The former Jehanabad MP was initially scheduled to join JD(U) on 4 September, but internal resistance emerged unexpectedly. The event was officially postponed due to ‘unavoidable reasons,’ though party insiders suggest that a senior JD(U) leader from the Bhumihar community had worked to block his induction.
The tide turned with Jagdish Sharma’s entry into the RJD, triggering speculation about Rahul Sharma’s candidacy from Ghosi. The JD(U), suddenly left without a strong Bhumihar face in Magadh, moved quickly to re-induct Arun Kumar, clearing the path for his formal return.