Patna, Aug 20 (IANS) Former Janata Dal (United) MLA Narendra Kumar Neeraj alias Gopal Mandal, who represented the Gopalpur Assembly constituency in Bhagalpur district four consecutive times, is set to join the Congress.
Political speculation intensified after a poster announcing a joining ceremony appeared in Patna.
Mandal said he was supposed to join the Congress today, but the event was postponed due to the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. He added that he would be given another date and would join the Congress then.
Gopal Mandal won the Gopalpur seat on a JD-U ticket from 2005 to 2020 and was regarded as a long‑time associate of Nitish Kumar.
However, the party did not nominate him for the 2025 Assembly elections. He subsequently contested as an independent candidate but was defeated.
Despite the poster and Mandal’s statement, Congress has not officially confirmed his induction.
Congress leader Asit Nath Tiwari said there was no formal information about the proposed joining. He indicated that if Mandal were joining at the state headquarters, senior party leaders would normally have been informed.
Consequently, his entry into Congress remains unconfirmed, although speculation about a possible move has intensified.
If he does join, Mandal could provide Congress with a recognisable political figure in the Bhagalpur‑Naugachia region, where he has maintained a political presence for many years.
Mandal has frequently attracted attention for controversial statements and unusual public incidents. His past controversies include an episode involving a pistol and another incident in which he was photographed travelling on the Tejas Rajdhani Express in his undergarments.
His relationship with the JD-U also became increasingly strained after he was denied a ticket for the 2025 election. He has remained politically active since losing the election, regularly making statements on political and public issues.
For now, the key question is whether the joining poster translates into a formal Congress induction. Until the party officially confirms it, treat his move as political speculation rather than a completed switch.
–IANS
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