Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday told elected JDU leaders that his decision to move to the Rajya Sabha was his own and had not been taken under any “pressure”.
The party announced that his son Nishant Kumar would formally enter active politics on Saturday and carry forward Nitish’s political legacy.
Nitish made the comments against the backdrop of protests by JDU workers against his “decision” to shift to Parliament. The protesters have accused two prominent upper-caste leaders — national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha and Union minister Rajeev Ranjan alias Lalan Singh — of betrayal Nitish.
The meeting was convened in haste amid fears that the growing unrest within the JDU ranks could sharpen caste fault lines in Bihar’s backward caste-dominated political landscape and widen the rift with ally BJP.
Several JDU leaders privately acknowledged that the turmoil within the party could also pose a challenge for the BJP, which is preparing to install its first chief minister in the state. The BJP has traditionally drawn its core support from upper-caste voters but is now widely believed to be attempting to expand its base by tapping the backward-caste support that has long backed the JDU.
At the meeting of elected party representatives held at the chief minister’s residence, the proposal to project Nishant as Nitish’s political successor was moved by Jha and Singh, a move widely seen as an attempt to calm angry party workers targeting the two leaders. Nishant, however, was not present at the meeting.
“Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant Kumar will formally take membership of the JDU on Saturday. He has decided to tour the entire state and meet party workers. This is a big decision taken at the meeting,” JDU MLC Neeraj Kumar told reporters after the legislature party meeting. He confirmed that Jha and Singh had told them that Nishant had agreed to take the plunge into active politics. “All the leaders welcomed the move with a big applause,” Neeraj said.
Party MLA Shyam Rajak said Nitish reiterated that the decision to move to the Rajya Sabha had been voluntary. “Nitishji told us that his decision was not taken under any pressure. ‘You all know that Nitish Kumar has never taken any decision under pressure,’ Nitishji said,” Rajak told reporters.
Rajak added that Nitish assured the legislators that he would continue to devote most of his time to Bihar and guide the party’s affairs. “Nitishji assured us that he would spend most of his time in Bihar and continue to guide the party,” he said.