Patna: Nitish Kumar took oath on November 20 as Bihar chief minister for a record tenth time. Twenty-six ministers also took oath with him. The moment looked familiar until one name surprised everyone. Deepak Prakash, son of Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha, walked in as a new minister. His entry created a sudden buzz across Patna’s political circles.
Prakash is neither a member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly nor the Bihar Legislative Council. Even then, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan administered the oath to him as the sole minister from the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), a political party founded by his father.
Many expected a different name. Talk around the capital pointed towards Kushwaha’s wife Snehlata. She won from Sasaram and her name floated in the lists of likely ministers. The final moment broke that prediction.
The RLM fought six seats in the recently concluded Bihar elections. The party won four – Bajpatti, Madhubani, Sasaram and Dinara constituencies. These seats gave Kushwaha a solid hand in the NDA fold. The expectation leaned towards one of the four winning MLAs. The surprise grows because the choice fell on a non-legislator and an unfamiliar name.
A New Face In A Tough Circle
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has held power for almost 20 years. His new cabinet carries many old faces from the Janata Dal (United) or JDU and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It also carries new face who balance caste blocs and local equations. Ten names in the present list look fresh. Prakash stands among them.
Sources in the RLAM describe him as a quiet person. They say he kept a distance from active politics. He returned from studies abroad only recently.
After the oath, he spoke to reporters and said, “My father is my inspiration. That is why I chose politics. The news of my inclusion in the cabinet came as a surprise for me too.”
Upendra Kushwaha’s Move
Kushwaha looked pleased and spoke about youth leadership. “We have always supported the need for youth to come forward. They hold greater capacity for work. This strength must be used in every field. Politics also needs the same energy,” he said.
He added, “The people of Bihar have given us a new responsibility. We understand the weight of this trust. We will honour it and continue to serve the public as we always have.”
Rules give Deepak six months. He must enter one house of the state legislature within this period. He can become an MLC now.
Many sees him a double gain for Kushwaha, who gave a ticket to his wife. She won and became an MLA. Now he has four MLAs. He wanted a place in the cabinet and one seat in the Legislative Council.
If he made any one of his MLAs a minister, his claim to a council seat would weaken. He avoided that by keeping his wife out and placing his son in. His wife already is an MLA. But the son had no mention anywhere.
Who Is Deepak Prakash?
Born in 1989, Prakash completed his Bachelor of Engineering from Sikkim Manipal in 2011. He worked for two years as a software engineer. After that he became self-employed.
The RLM claims that he has been active in politics since 2019-20. But journalists in Patna remain unsure he was hardly seen in any political activity. He is little known.
Nitish Kumar’s New Team
Nitish’s newly-formed cabinet carries familiar names. BJP leaders Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha have once again returned as ministers. Both served as deputy chief ministers in the previous government.
The party has brought back four former ministers (Mangal Pandey, Pramod Kumar, Surendra Prasad Mehta and Nitin Navin). Dilip Jaiswal and Narayan Prasad have returned after a short break.
The JD (U) has retained Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Shravan Kumar.
The Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), another NDA partner, has sent Santosh Kumar Suman once again. He is the son of former Chief Minister and Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi.
New faces such as shooter-turned-politician Shreyasi Singh, Rama Nishad from Aurai, Ram Kripal Yadav, Sanjay Kumar Singh and Sanjay Kumar have also been inducted in the cabinet.
Three women (Shreyasi Singh, Rama Nishad and Leshi Singh) have got spots.
The social mix stands wide. Eight ministers come from upper castes, five from Dalit groups, one from the Muslim community and 13 from OBC and EBC groups.
Party strength shapes the final layout. The BJP holds 14 seats in the cabinet, the JDU eight, the LJP(R) two and the HAM and the RLAM one each.
Bihar allows a maximum of 36 ministers, including the chief minister. The new count now stands at 27.
The NDA swept the Bihar polls, winning over 202 of the 243 seats. Its two major allies the BJP and the JD(U) won 89 and 85 seats respectively.
The opposition Mahagathbandhan MGB, led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal and allied with others like the Indian National Congress, got only 35 seats.
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