RLM bats for Kushwaha’s RS return as 5 seats to fall vacant

Patna: Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), a key ally of the NDA in Bihar, on Thursday made appeal to the BJP to re-nominate its national chief, Upendra Kushwaha, to the Rajya Sabha, amid chances of his re-nomination to the Upper House of Parliament looking thin this time. Kushwaha rejoined the NDA ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and, currently, his party has a total of four members in the state assembly.

Five vacancies from Bihar are going to rise in the Rajya Sabha in April this year following the retirement of NDA leaders, including Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Harivansh Narayan Singh, Union minister Ram Nath Thakur, former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha, Prem Chand Gupta and Amarendra Dhari Singh, the last two being the RJD members. Given the RJD’s poor numerical strength in the state assembly, the victory of any RJD member looks completely uncertain, while uncertainty also hangs over the fate of Kushwaha.


However, the RLM leaders are “hopeful” about Kushwaha’s re-nomination and have appealed to the BJP leadership on this matter. “The tenure of our leader Kushwaha is expiring soon and we are hopeful that he will be re-nominated,” RLM legislator Madhav Anand told reporters on Thursday, adding that in a democracy everyone holds the right to make demands, although it depends on the BJP’s top leadership to take a decision.

Anand said they are confident that all five NDA candidates from Bihar would emerge victorious. “However, we have no idea who could be the NDA candidates. We are hopeful that Kushwaha could be a candidate. It is not proper to speak much on the issue... please wait for it,” the RLM MLA added.

Not only the party MLA, even the RLM’s chief spokesperson, Ram Pukar Sinha, also demanded Kushwaha’s re-nomination to the Rajya Sabha a day after the Election Commission announced the poll schedule. “If the NDA was able to win 202 seats out of a total 243 in Bihar, then Kushwaha’s contributions must also be taken into consideration. He deserves a Rajya Sabha berth,” Sinha told the reporters on Thursday.

Informed sources said during the Bihar assembly elections, the BJP agreed to re-nominate Kushwaha to the Rajya Sabha and another one from his party to the Bihar legislative council. “But, Kushwaha ji tried to play smart by inducting his son as a minister although he was not a member of any House of the state legislature at that time. So, Kushwaha will more likely to prefer his son nominated to the council,” a senior RLM leader said, wishing not to be quoted. He said Kushwaha chose to appoint his son as a minister although his party had won four seats in the state assembly, and one of them happened to be his wife, Snehlata Kushwaha.

“We don’t see the BJP will agree to get three members of the Kushwaha family in the House, or its campaign against Parivarvad (dynastic rule) will stand exposed,” the party leader said.