The latest recast in the Congress leadership in Bihar shows that party president Rahul Gandhi has mostly banked on people whose families have long-lasting connections with the party and have been loyal to it through the decades.

The biggest example is MLC Madan Mohan Jha, who will take charge on Friday as the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president. His father Nagendra Jha, education minister during Congress governments, was a top leader of the Mithilanchal region and an opponent of former Congress chief minister Jagannath Mishra, who fell out of favour when Rajiv Gandhi led the party.

Congress leaders, however, stressed that it was an appointment based on merit.

“He is a very polite, humble, kind and sober person who is popular with everybody. He has a non-controversial image, a long experience of organisational work and doesn’t believe in factionalism,” said All India Congress Committee (AICC) member Umakant Singh.

Similarly, Sameer Kumar Singh from Kharagpur in Munger district, one of the four new BPCC working

presidents, is a third-generation Congress politician. His father Rajendra Singh was an MLA and minister, while his grandfather Banarasi Singh was a Lok Sabha member from Munger.

Another new working president, Rosera MLA Ashok Kumar, is the son of former state minister Baleshwar Ram. Similar is the case of another working president, Shyam Sundar Singh ‘Dheeraj’, a muscleman from Mokama area in Patna district and a prominent face in the party under the leadership of Jagannath Mishra.

The fourth working president Kaukab Quadri’s family has also been associated with the Congress. His grandfather Shah Abdul Wassy Quadri and uncle Shah Lal Quadri took part in the freedom movement.

A majority of party legislators have found place in the 23-member BPCC working committee, while the 19-member advisory committee is also laden with veteran Congress leaders whose families have been associated with the party for decades.