Former IAS Manish Verma, a 2000-batch officer, who had taken VRS in 2018 to serve as advisor to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, has formally taken a plunge in politics joining Janata Dal (United).
Verma, 50, an Odisha-cadre officer, who moved to Bihar in 2012 had served as Patna district magistrate and came in close contact with Nitish Kumar, who belongs to Verma's Kurmi community.
On the advice of Nitish Kumar Verma took voluntary retirement in 2018 and joined as member of the Bihar Disaster Management Authority. In 2022, he took over as CM's advisor (infrastructure). He has now resigned from all these posts before joining the JD (U).
Verma is Nitish's second bureaucrat pick for his party after R C P Singh, who had gone on to become the Rajya Sabha MP and Union minister before falling out with him in 2022.
Manish Verma seen as successor to Nitish Kumar
Ever since Manish Verma has taken VRS off o work closely with Nitish Kumar, there has been buzz that Verma may succeed Kumar, who has crossed 73 years of age. With his great administrative skills and caste factor in favour, Verma may easily step in the shoes of Nitish Kumar. Verma has proven his political acumen during last Lok Sabha de Tikam when he played a key role for the JD(U)'s campaign during the recent Lok Sabha polls, during which he extensively toured all the 16 parliamentary constituencies the party contested. The party won 12 of these seats, emerging as a major ally of the Narenra Modi-led NDA government 3.0.
On his new move, Verma said : “It is a very emotional moment for me. A small piece of paper of the JD (U) joining form made me as nervous as writing the UPSC exam papers. I was wondering how to fill column on my profession in the party joining form. It could not be a retired IAS officer. I wrote social service.”
Vivek Shukla is a management graduate who has worked in corporate worked for 20 years and is now pursuing his passion — news.
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