SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Sept 20: Congress’ Jharia MLA Purnima Neeraj Singh has succeeded senior Congress leader and former MP Subodh Kant Sahay as the president of the Janata Mazdoor Sangh (JMS) Bachha Singh faction, marking a significant change in the 50-year-old trade union’s leadership.
New leadership appointments
In the recent JMS meeting, Purnima Neeraj Singh was elected as the new president, while her brother-in-law, Abhishek Singh, was appointed general secretary, replacing the late former minister Bachha Singh.
Subodh Kant Sahay has held the position of JMS Bachha Singh faction president since 2006.
Historical context and leadership transitions
The role of JMS general secretary has been vacant since August 2024 due to Bachha Singh’s death. The Janata Mazdoor Sangh, a prominent trade union in the coal belt, was founded in the 1970s by former Jharia MLA Surdeo Singh. Initially, Singh served as general secretary, with former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar as president.
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Following Suryadeo Singh’s sudden death in 1991, his younger brother Bachha Singh took over as general secretary and contested from the Jharia assembly seat where late Suryadeo Singh won from 1977 to 1989. In 2000, Chandrashekhar stepped down as president.
The Janata Mazdoor Sangh split into two factions in 2006: the JMS Kunti Singh faction and the Bachha Singh faction, with Sahay leading the latter.
Factional struggles and recent developments
The Bachha Singh faction faced a setback when the Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) recognized the Kunti Singh faction as the legitimate JMS.
Additionally, legal troubles involving Randhir Singh, Suryadeo Singh’s younger brother who got a life term sentence, and jail to former Jharia MLA Sanjiv Singh in the Neeraj Singh murder case, further fragmented the JMS Kunti Singh faction into several groups.
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