Bihar: Chaos at NDA meet in Jamui, MoS Ramnath Thakur leaves venue without addressing workers

Patna, Sep 13 (IANS) A political conference organised by NDA leaders in Jamui district turned chaotic on Saturday after supporters of Minister Sumit Kumar Singh and former MLC Sanjay Prasad clashed over stage access and the welcome of their respective leaders.

What began as a heated argument soon escalated into pushing and shoving among workers, forcing police and security personnel to intervene.

Union Minister of State (MoS) Ramnath Thakur and JDU national general secretary Shyam Rajak, who were present as chief guests, had to leave the venue without addressing the gathering due to the unruly scenes.

The situation worsened as a large crowd attempted to climb the stage, leading to complete disorder.

Adding to the turmoil, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Sanjay Mandal expressed anger at not being allotted a place on the stage and left with his supporters.

Former MLC Sanjay Prasad also walked out soon after, along with his workers, following the departure of the central leaders.

Though Minister Sumit Kumar Singh stayed back and appealed for calm, the atmosphere of the event had already deteriorated.

The morale of workers was visibly shaken as they returned disappointed, having expected to hear from senior leaders.

NDA has five constituent parties in Bihar, including BJP, JDU, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM).

They are organising workers' meetings in every district in the run-up to the Bihar Assembly election to strengthen the cadre at the grassroots level.

However, this incident has exposed organisational weaknesses and internal discord within the party.

Analysts say such episodes risk demoralising the cadre ahead of the Assembly elections and may provide ammunition to the Opposition.

Observers suggest that had the event been better managed, with clear stage arrangements and crowd control measures, the situation could have been avoided.

The episode now stands as a warning for party leadership to address infighting and strengthen organisational discipline before the polls.

--IANS

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