Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's son Nishant Kumar joins JD(U)
PTC News Desk: Nishant Kumar, the 50-year-old son of Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar and president of the Janata Dal (United), officially joined the party today, marking the start of his political career.
His entry into politics comes as Nitish Kumar prepares to move to the Rajya Sabha after leading the Bihar government for more than two decades. The 75-year-old leader, widely known as “Sushashan Babu” for his governance and development work in the state, has filed nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha election scheduled for March 16. He is expected to step down as Chief Minister soon.
Nishant Kumar’s move to join the JD(U) has sparked speculation that he could be appointed Deputy Chief Minister in the BJP-JD(U) alliance government once his father leaves the top post and enters the Upper House of Parliament. This change could also allow the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to finally have its own Chief Minister in Bihar.
Explaining his decision, Nitish Kumar said he had always wanted to serve in both Houses of Parliament as well as both Houses of the state legislature. Having already served as a member of the Lok Sabha, an MLA, and an MLC, a Rajya Sabha tenure would complete that rare achievement. Such a record is shared by prominent Bihar leaders like Lalu Prasad Yadav and the late Sushil Kumar Modi, who were his contemporaries since the days of the anti-Emergency movement.
Meanwhile, the main opposition party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), has accused the BJP of carrying out a “political abduction” in Bihar and claimed that JD(U)’s core voters feel betrayed. RJD’s Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha said party leader Tejashwi Yadav had already predicted during last year’s Assembly election campaign that Nitish Kumar would only be a “temporary Chief Minister.” He criticised Nitish’s decision to move to the Rajya Sabha after serving as Chief Minister for 21 years, calling it unreasonable.
- With inputs from agencies
