Amid the ongoing election campaign for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, political parties are tightening internal discipline to project unity within their ranks. In a major move, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday expelled four rebel leaders from the party for six years, accusing them of indiscipline and anti-party activities.
Separate letters of expulsion were issued from the office of Arvind Sharma, the state headquarters in charge of the BJP in Bihar.
According to Sharma, the expelled leaders — Varun Singh of Bahadurganj Assembly constituency, Anoop Kumar of Gopalganj, Pawan Yadav of Kahalgaon, and Surya Bhan Singh of Barhara — were contesting the elections either independently or from rival parties against the officially endorsed candidates of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Party officials stated that this decision was necessary to maintain organisational discipline and unity within the NDA, which includes the BJP, Janata Dal(United), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), and Rastriya Lok Morcha (HAM).
As part of the seat-sharing arrangement, both the BJP and JD(U) are contesting 101 seats each. LJPRV is contesting on 29 seats, and HAM and RLM are contesting on six seats each.
Despite their expulsion, the rebel leaders have reportedly decided to continue their electoral campaigns, underscoring the growing challenge of managing dissent within the alliance.
A senior BJP functionary said the decision should serve as a warning to other potential rebels.
Earlier, the Janata Dal(United), led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, had taken similar disciplinary action, expelling 16 rebel leaders in two days for anti-party conduct.
Those removed included senior figures such as former Minister Shailesh Kumar, sitting MLA Gopal Mandal, and former MLAs Shyam Bahadur Singh and Sudarshan Kumar, along with several former MLCs and local leaders.
JD(U) state General Secretary Chandan Kumar Singh issued the expulsion orders, stating that these leaders were acting against the party and alliance interests.
Political observers view these expulsions as a coordinated effort by NDA partners to curb internal rebellion and present a united front ahead of the high-stakes assembly polls in Bihar.
