Patna: Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha may have lost the Karakat Lok Sabha seat, but in the Bihar Assembly elections he has staged a quiet comeback — and this time, the rewards landed squarely within his family.
Four out of six candidates fielded by Kushwaha’s party RLMO won their seats, including his wife, Snehlata Kushwaha. One more MLA emerged via Kushwaha’s strategy of placing his loyalist Pappu Verma on the JDU symbol, giving him a total of five legislators across parties.
But the biggest win came with the appointment of his son, Deepak Prakash, as a minister in Nitish Kumar’s cabinet. Deepak is not yet an MLA or MLC, meaning the ministerial berth effectively guarantees him a Legislative Council seat, consolidating the family’s long-term political foothold.
From dissent to dominance
Kushwaha had earlier triggered unease within the NDA by claiming “nothing is right this time” over seat-sharing, especially after the Mahua seat went to the LJP. The BJP rushed to contain the crisis, with senior leader Nityanand Rai flying him to Delhi overnight.
The memory of Kushwaha’s Lok Sabha defeat — where Pawan Singh complicated the contest, letting the Grand Alliance overtake the NDA in Shahabad and Magadh — made the BJP cautious. A displeased Kushwaha could have disrupted NDA prospects in several caste-sensitive seats.
But by sticking with the alliance, he has now been rewarded with multiple political concessions — and significant leverage in the new government.
A shift to family-first politics
For years, Kushwaha and Nitish Kumar were among the rare Bihar leaders who kept their families away from direct politics. That image has changed dramatically.
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Wife Snehlata Kushwaha is now an MLA.
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Son Deepak Prakash is a minister and on course to become an MLC.
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RLMO has four MLAs, plus one JDU MLA aligned with him.
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Kushwaha’s own Rajya Sabha extension is secure.
This places Kushwaha among Bihar’s increasingly family-centric political clans, even as he had publicly argued for Nitish Kumar’s son, Nishant Kumar, to enter politics.
Not every gamble worked
Kushwaha also attempted to expand his influence by fielding another loyalist, Ranvijay Singh, from the Goh seat on a BJP ticket. He lost, but the setback did little to dent Kushwaha’s wider gains.
With four MLC vacancies arising and elections imminent, Kushwaha’s bargaining power remains intact. His strategy of avoiding appointing Snehlata or MLA Madhav Anand as ministers helped avoid a squeeze on MLC numbers — ensuring room for his son.
A smart play in a shifting landscape
In a political season where LJP-R’s Chirag Paswan appeared to be the biggest gainer and HAM (S) secured a minister despite contesting only six seats, Kushwaha has emerged as a quieter, more strategic winner.
