Patna, Sept. 10: Switching sides is a common phenomenon in Bihar but even by these standards former Union minister Nagmani is an “incorrigible party hopper” for many politicians.

“Nagmaniji may be joining Congress but the question is how long will he remain there? He is always on a yatra”, remarked JD(U) MP Upendra Kushwaha.

A senior Congress leader said: “Nagmani takes the cake when it comes to party-hopping. When Nagmani met Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Thursday not many may have recalled that this is his second honeymoon with the Congress. He was in the Congress before 1990. Even Nagmani must have forgotten it”.

Lalu brushed aside Nagmani’s defection from the RJD. He said: “The Congress appears to have got into the habit of picking losers who have been rejected by the people.” Ironically, Nagmani means ‘snake’s gem.’ Lalu also said: “It is a mythical stone which everyone says exists but nobody has seen. Similarly everybody says that Nagmani is the leader of the Kushwahas in Bihar, but that is yet to be verified.”

Nagmani’s USP is that he is the son of late Jagdev Prasad, a legendary leader of backward castes in the 1960s-70s, who was mysteriously murdered. Nagmani won from Kurtha in Arwal district from the now defunct Soshit Samaj Dal ticket. He switched sides to the Congress.

In the early 1990s Nagmani organised a Kushwaha rally at Gandhi Maidan in which Lalu Prasad was the chief guest. For this he was awarded the Rajya Sabha seat. In 1999 he won the Lok Sabha seat from Chatra Parliamentary seat on a RJD ticket. It was one of the seven seats the party won among Bihar’s 54 seats.

In just two years Nagmani began to spit fire against Lalu Prasad calling him ‘anti-Kushwaha’. He defected from RJD along two more MPs to form the RJD(Democratic) and later shifted to the BJP and was made a Union minister.

Political circles indicate that it was George Fernandes who got Nagmani the Union ministry, much to the displeasure of Nitish Kumar.

In 2004, Nagmani lost from Chatra Parliamentary seat and shifted his loyalty to Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP. His wife Suchitra Sinha won from Kurtha on an LJP ticket in the 2005 February Assembly polls.

A few months later he joined JD(U). His wife won from Kurtha again in the November Assembly polls on a JD(U) ticket. Nagmani was given a seat in the state legislative council and his wife was made minister for food and civil supplies.

Just before 2009 polls, Nagmani demanded Ujiyarpur Lok Sabha seat from Nitish Kumar. The seat was denied to him and instead he was asked to contest from Karakat Lok Sabha seat. Nagmani quit the JD(U) and joined Lalu swearing that Nitish Kumar will bite the dust. “I will quit politics if NDA wins more than 5 seats,” he declared at a press meet along with Lalu. Nitish won 32 of the 40 seats and Nagmani lost from Chatra Parliamentary seat.

From the day he left RJD to the day he met Sonia Gandhi, Nagmani has rubbed shoulders with leaders of every political party sparking off speculations on which party he will join. There were even indications about joining Nitish again. His wife remained with JD(U) until she quit the Assembly to join her husband. “His yatra across parties is endless and all in the name of betterment of Kushwaha caste,” taunted another leader from the same caste.