Manish Verma, a close assistant to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and a former Indian Administrative Services (IAS) official, has joined the Janata Dal (United) in Patna.
Verma was the CM’s additional advisor and joined the JDU in front of influential party figures.
2018 saw Verma, an IAS officer from the 2000 batch serving in the Odisha cadre and a former Patna district magistrate, take voluntary retirement (VRS). Since then, he has been Nitish Kumar’s close assistant. In the party’s recent poll campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, Verma was crucial. He visited each of the 16 parliamentary seats that the JD(U) ran for.
After gaining 12 of these seats, the JD(U) became a significant ally of the NDA government led by Narendra Modi in version 3.0. Verma could soon have a significant position in the JD(U), as the Bihar assembly elections are anticipated to take place the following year.
Verma was allegedly considered as a possible party leader and Nitish Kumar’s successor during the JD(U) national executive meeting last week in New Delhi.
Who is Manish Verma?
Verma (50) comes from the Bihar district of Nalanda and is a member of the Kurmi (OBC) community. Kumar is a member of the same community as well. In Biharsharif, Verma’s father was a well-known physician. Verma attended a Biharsharif government school. Prior to earning his BTech in Civil Engineering from the IIT, Delhi, he also attended school in Patna. In addition, Verma was employed by the Indian Oil Corporation prior to her success at the UPSC in 2000. After serving as a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in Gunupur, Rayagara, Odisha, Verma was initially posted in Kalahandi. Before being assigned to Bihar on a deputation, he spent twelve years in Odisha.
He has also served as the Patna and Purnea district magistrate in Bihar. From 2016 till 2021, he also served as the Chief Minister’s secretary. Verma chose to take VRS from services in 2021 rather than return to Odisha following his posting in Bihar. Following the creation of the position by Nitish Kumar during the February 2022 cabinet meeting, he joined as the chief minister’s extra adviser.
In addition, he was a member of the Disaster Management Authority of Bihar State. Prior to entering, Verma resigned from each of these positions. I’m experiencing a lot of emotion right now. I was just as anxious about a small piece of paper from the JD (U) joining form as I was about writing the UPSC exam papers. I was unsure on how to complete the party joining form’s column regarding my profession. An IAS officer in retirement could not be it. For Indian Express, Verma said, “I wrote social service.” link with the chief minister of Bihar
Since Nitish departed the IAS in 2021, Verma’s name has been circulating as a potential successor. However, he has never hosted a party. There are rumors that Verma would be named national general secretary of JD(U) (organization).
Prior to Verma, RCP Singh was another bureaucrat chosen by the chief minister for a prominent role inside the party. Singh later became a union minister and Rajya Sabha member for JD(U) before he and Kumar had a falling out in 2022.
