New Delhi [India], May 30 (ANI): In a key political development ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mahachandra Prasad Singh has been appointed as the Chairman of the Bihar State Commission for the Development of Upper Castes.

The official notification was issued by the Bihar General Administration Department on Thursday.

Singh has been appointed for a tenure of three years.

Janata Dal (United) national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad has been appointed as the Vice Chairman of the Commission.

The move comes at a time when the state is witnessing significant political realignments. Former Union Minister and ex-JD(U) leader Ram Chandra Prasad Singh recently merged his political outfit Aap Sabki Awaz (ASA) with the Jan Suraaj Party led by Prashant Kishor. Singh had left the JD(U) in 2023, joined the BJP, and later launched his own party in 2024, announcing plans to contest the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls.

The Bihar Assembly elections are expected to be held in October-November this year. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), comprising the BJP, JD(U), and LJP, is aiming to retain power, while the opposition INDIA Bloc is preparing to challenge the incumbent Nitish Kumar-led government.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the inauguration and foundation laying of multiple development projects worth Rs 48, 520 crore in Karakat, hit out at the opposition over the issue of social justice and said that people who cheated Bihar were now the ones talking about 'social justice' for the sake of power.

PM Modi said that during the opposition's tenure, poor and deprived sections of the society had to leave Bihar, and for decades, the Dalits and tribals of the state did not have toilets. He stated that their entry into banks was also not allowed.

'Those who cheated Bihar the most, during whose tenure the poor and deprived sections of Bihar had to leave Bihar, are today the same people telling the lie of social justice to gain power. For decades, the Dalits, backwards classes and tribals of Bihar did not even have toilets. For decades, these brothers and sisters of ours did not even have a bank account. Their entry into banks was banned', PM Modi said while addressing the gathering.

The Prime Minister questioned RJD and Congres,s saying that during their tenure, crores of people didn't even have proper roofs over their heads.

'Here, crores of people did not even have a proper roof over their heads. This plight, pain, and suffering of the people of Bihar, was this the social justice of Congress and RJD? There can be no greater injustice than this', the Prime Minister said. (ANI)