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Nitish Kumar, Bihar’s longest-serving chief minister, took oath for a historic tenth term at a grand event, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief ministers of several National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ruled states and senior leaders of the alliance. One of the major achievements of the new cabinet was the induction of veteran Bihar leader Upendra Kushwaha’s son Deepak Prakash as a minister from the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) quota despite not contesting the assembly elections.
Amid allegations of dynasty politics by opposition leaders, former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha clarified that his son’s inclusion was based on an internal decision of the party and discussions within the alliance, and was not linked to electoral participation.
In a long post on
Who is Deepak Prakash?
Deepak Prakash Kushwaha is a 36-year-old computer science engineer who suddenly entered the politics of Bihar. Deepak’s entry into the cabinet came unexpectedly as the only ministerial representative from his father’s party, RLM, in Nitish Kumar’s tenth cabinet.
The appointment comes after Upendra’s quick efforts to secure the post for himself after the 2024 elections.
Upendra has defended Deepak’s credentials, saying that he is not someone who “stumbled into life” but achieved his engineering degree through dedication and hard work.
Deepak’s political rise is based on the growing influence of his family.
His grandmother Sneh Lata Kushwaha recently won the 2025 Bihar elections from Sasaram assembly constituency by a decisive margin of over 25,000 votes, securing 1,05,006 votes against RJD candidate Satendra Sah’s 79,563.
This victory, coupled with Upendra’s Rajya Sabha nomination (supported by the NDA after his defeat in 2024 on the Karakat Lok Sabha seat), puts the Kushwaha family in prominence: Upendra in the upper house of Parliament, Sneh Lata as an MLA, and Deepak as a state minister – forming a trio of key roles.
What is the status of RLM in 2025?
Upendra Kushwaha-led RLM remains a junior ally in the Nitish Kumar-led NDA Bihar government
In the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, the party contested in six constituencies and won four, performing solidly in its limited constituency.
However, its share of power in the expanded tenth cabinet is modest, with Deepak Prakash given only one ministerial berth.
Why did Nitish Kumar not contest the assembly elections?
Nitish Kumar, the longest serving Chief Minister of Bihar, does not participate in the assembly elections. He last served as MLA in 1985 and contested Harnaut only once thereafter, in 1995, but decided not to retain the seat and instead continued as a Lok Sabha MP.
Since then, he has consistently entered the state legislature through the Legislative Council rather than through direct assembly elections.
Bihar is one of six Indian states that has a Legislative Council, which enables ministers to hold office without winning assembly elections.
Nitish Kumar’s first term as MLC ended in 2012, after which he was re-elected, sparking renewed debate over his preference to avoid a direct electoral fight for the assembly.
Justifying his decision, he said at the centenary celebrations of the Legislative Council in January 2012, “I have become an MLC by my choice, not by compulsion, because the Upper House is a prestigious institution.”
“After the completion of the current six-year term, I will once again be elected to the Legislative Council,” he said.
Opposition flag “Politics of nepotism, dynasty”
The decision to include Deepak Prakash in the cabinet took the political circles of Bihar by surprise and invited criticism, including from the opposition, for promoting dynasty politics. Along with Prakash, HAM(S) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi’s son Santosh Kumar Suman was also inducted into the cabinet.
In a post on Twitter, the RJD took a jibe at the ruling NDA leaders, who took oath as ministers in the newly formed Bihar government today, accusing the Grand Alliance of “dynastic politics”, implying that the ruling party itself was doing so. RJD said that many newly sworn-in ministers have family ties with politicians.
The RJD has specifically named 10 ministers, including Samrat Choudhary, Nitin Nabin and Shreyasi Singh, highlighting their links to established political families.
RJD said, “Rama Nishad is the daughter-in-law of former Union Minister Captain Jai Narayan Nishad and wife of former MP Ajay Nishad. Vijay Chaudhary is the son of former MLA Jagdish Prasad Chaudhary. Nitin Naveen is the son of former MLA Naveen Kishore Sinha. Sunil Kumar is the son of former minister Chandrika Ram and brother of former MLA Anil Kumar. Leshi Singh is the wife of former Samata Party district president late Madhusudan Singh alias Buton Singh.”
Notably, nearly 80% of HAM(S)’s newly elected MLAs are relatives of senior leaders, with Jitan Ram Manjhi’s daughter-in-law, mother-in-law and son-in-law winning seats. Up to 12.35% of the winning BJP MLAs have family connections, including Samrat Chaudhary and Nitish Mishra. 11 winners of JD(U) come from political families.
(with inputs from agencies)
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