AIKS Bihar Conference Elects New Leadership, Vows to Intensify Peasant Struggles

Motihari: The 38th Bihar State Conference of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) concluded at Motihari in East Champaran district on Sunday, electing a new state leadership and resolving to intensify peasant struggles against the anti-farmer policies of the BJP-led central and state governments.

The three-day conference, held from June 6 to 8, drew 315 delegates from 30 districts. The choice of venue carried symbolic weight — East Champaran was the site of Mahatma Gandhi's historic 1917 indigo farmers' struggle, and has since seen several AIKS-led agitations for land rights and against landlordism.

A shadow hung over the proceedings from the outset. AIKS state vice president Rajmangal Prasad, who polled 99,677 votes in the Pipra assembly constituency in the 2025 elections, is currently lodged in Motihari Central Jail on a trumped-up charges filed by influential BJP leaders. All speakers at the open session condemned his imprisonment. Senior AIKS leaders Dr Ashok Dhawale, Badal Saroj, Lalan Choudhari, Ajay Kumar MLA, and Satyendra Mishra visited Prasad in jail during the conference.

The conference was inaugurated by AIKS national vice president Amra Ram, MP. Addresses were delivered by national president Dr Ashok Dhawale, national joint secretaries Badal Saroj and Awadhesh Kumar, among others. The second day featured a special session on united peasant struggles, with participation from multiple kisan organisations including AIKM, AIKKMS, and KKU.

On the concluding day, the state general secretary's report was adopted unanimously alongside the remaining resolutions. The conference elected an 85-member state council, which in turn chose 15 office bearers. Ajay Kumar, MLA, was elected the new state president, Binod Kumar was re-elected general secretary, and Manoj Chandrabanshi was named finance secretary. Rajmangal Prasad was elected a joint secretary despite being in custody.

The conference resolved to make the August 10 Jail Bharo struggle a massive success across all districts of Bihar, alongside strengthening grassroots organisation and pursuing local agitations.