Comrade Nand Kishore Prasad, popularly known as Jamunaji, passed away on the night of June 19 in Patna's Medanta Hospital where he had been undergoing treatment since 28 May following a severe brain haemorrhage and subsequent respiratory and other complications. Despite sustained medical efforts, his condition continued to deteriorate and he eventually succumbed to multi-organ failure. He would have turned 79 on the forthcoming 9 August.
One of the core members of the founding generation of CPI(ML) leaders in Bihar, Comrade Jamunaji played a pivotal role in building and expanding the party in Bihar over several decades. He was among the key leaders who, alongside Comrades Jauhar, Vinod Mishra and Ramnaresh Ram, helped organize the historic peasant movement in Bhojpur. Living and working among Dalit and landless rural communities, he contributed significantly to the growth of the party and mass movements in Bhojpur and later in the Patna rural region. He also played an important role in the party's expansion in the Champaran-Gopalganj-Siwan region during the 1980s and 1990s.
In 1997, he was elected to the Central Committee of CPI(ML) Liberation at the Party's Sixth Congress held in Varanasi. The Central Committee subsequently elected him to the Polit Bureau, of which he remained a member for many years.
Comrade Jamunaji later served as the Bihar State Secretary of CPI(ML) Liberation from 2006 to 2012, a particularly critical period in the party's development. Following the setback in the 2010 Bihar Assembly elections, when the party lost its representation in the Assembly and was compelled to shift its state office from the MLA Flats area to its present premises in Kadamkuan, he provided steady leadership and helped guide the organization through a difficult phase. Under his stewardship, the party continued to advance important struggles and expand its mass base across the state.
Because of declining health, he was unable to undertake regular organizational responsibilities in recent years. Yet he remained deeply engaged with the party's work and continued to participate in major campaigns and events whenever possible. He attended the party's recent Bihar State Conference in Darbhanga from 16 to 18 May. Soon after returning from the conference, he suffered a brain haemorrhage and was brought from his hometown Ara to Patna for treatment.
News of his passing was met with profound grief throughout the party. His mortal remains were kept at MLA Flat No. 213 in Patna for comrades, friends and well-wishers to pay their last respects. Senior party leaders, cadres and activists from across Bihar gathered to bid him farewell. Leaders of the Mahagathbandhan, Left parties and various political and social organizations also paid tribute, including Tejashwi Yadav, Mangani Lal Mandal, Uday Narayan Choudhary, Rajesh Ram, Ramnaresh Pandey and several others.
Red Salute to beloved Comrade Jamunaji. Deepest condolences to his family and countless comrades in Bihar and across India who drew inspiration from his warmth, humility, political commitment and caring personality. His contribution to the revolutionary movement and to the growth of CPI(ML) Liberation in Bihar will be remembered for generations. More power to the revolutionary legacy of Comrade Nand Kishore Prasad.
