Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party is also in an acute internal crisis after its backing to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025. The bill has already led to five high-profile resignations in the party, reflecting increasing alienation in the party ahead of the Bihar elections.

Wave of Resignations

The latest to resign is Tabrez Hasan, JD(U) Youth Wing Vice President. In his resignation letter to Nitish Kumar, Hasan conveyed that he was deeply disappointed because the party's support for the bill has destroyed Muslim voters' faith in JD(U) which they believed to be a secular party. He stated, "I had hoped you would uphold your secular image, but you chose to side with forces that have consistently acted against Muslims.

Prior to Hasan's resignation, a few key leaders had already quit the party, such as Mohammad Shahnawaz Malik, State Secretary of Minority Cell; Mohammad Tabrez Siddiqui, Aligarh State General Secretary; Mohammad Dilshan Rain of Bhojpur; and former candidate Mohammad Qasim Ansari. Ansari specifically attacked the party for having betrayed its secular philosophy and accused JD(U) MP Lalan Singh of supporting the bill in the Lok Sabha in a manner that offended the sentiments of crores of Indian Muslims.

Divergent Opinions Within JD(U)

Divergences within emerged in the party position on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. JD(U) old-timer MP and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh had come out in defense of the bill in Parliament, asserting it is to infuse more transparency into Waqf Board functioning and not anti-Muslim. JD(U) chief and former MLC Ghulam Gaus, however, objected to the bill, terming it an attempt to seize Waqf Board land, which amounts to almost 700,000 acres in the country. Gaus charged the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) with 'acting against the Muslim community's interest'.

Bihar's Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources Minister and close friend of Nitish Kumar, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, welcomed the central government's decision to refer the bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for further scrutiny. He reiterated the need to look into the concerns of the minority community before the bill is passed, showing the party's attempt to strike a middle ground between opposing opinions within the party.

Effect on JD(U) and the NDA

Internal crisis in the JD(U) party over the Waqf (Amendment) Bill harms the secular image of the party and can affect it among Muslim voters in Bihar. The mass resignations of the top leadership are an indication of the poll price that the party might have to pay for its legislative action.

Shahzaib Rizvi, president of RLD, had tendered his resignation in protest, complaining that the party has compromised its secular ideology.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill: An Overview

Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, brought by Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, foresee substantive overhaul in the management of Muslim charity trusts, or waqfs. The primary alterations are the inclusion of non-Muslim members in the Waqf Boards and Central rule with increased strictness. These steps, the critics point out, are in an effort to minimize corruption and bring in increased transparency. But critics argue that the law violates the constitutional rights of Muslims and may result in confiscation of religious properties of historical value without documentation.

Broader Political and Social Implications

Passage of Waqf (Amendment) Bill has fueled communal tensions in India. Muslim groups such as the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board argue that the bill is against Islamic laws that require Muslim ownership of waqf properties. Activists and opposition leaders such as Rahul Gandhi warn that the bill will marginalize Muslims, and open religious doors that will erode other minority communities.

While JD(U) is beset by internal conflicts and the NDA is attacked from all quarters, politics in Bihar and elsewhere continues to be in the melting pot. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill saga reflects the intricate dynamics of legislative strategies and their socio-political implications in India's plural society.