Manoj Kumar Jha

Manoj Kumar Jha is an Indian academic who switched to politics and is currently linked to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). He was born on August 5, 1967, in Saharsa, Bihar, and holds a Master's and a Ph.D. in Social Work from Delhi University, respectively. He was a lecturer in Social Work and had several teaching positions in colleges like Jamia Millia Islamia and the University of Delhi before he took up politics as his primary career.

He was elected without competition to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar in 2018. Since then, Jha has been the national spokesperson of the RJD, and we can often see him participating in parliamentary debates and expressing his views through articles and press releases. In April 2024, he took his second oath of office along with other candidates from Bihar who were also elected unopposed, and hence began his second term in the Rajya Sabha.

Jha has blended his academic knowledge with politics several times during his political journey. He has touched upon topics of electoral accountability, minority rights, social justice, and the significance of representation being more than just a token. One of such instances is when he voiced distrust of elections by alleging gradual rigging of the process while simultaneously employing Election Commission-based procedures as proof of fairness.

Just like any politician, he too has been a part of controversies, mostly from his criticisms and impassioned speeches. For example, Jha announced a lecture at Delhi University had been abruptly shelved; he said, political pressure was at play, and hence an inquiry was needed. Furthermore, when Jha sang a poem by the Dalit writer Om Prakash Valmiki aloud in Parliament, his interpretation and association with “killing the Thakur within” caused some upper-caste groups to rebuke him. Nevertheless, he confessed to being metaphorical and non-targeted on any caste, but toward a dominating mentality.