Patna, November 29: Seven senior members of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), an ally of India’s ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar, resigned on Thursday accusing party chief Upendra Kushwaha of promoting dynastic politics after his son was inducted into the state cabinet.
The revolt erupted days after Kushwaha chose his 36-year-old son, Deepak Prakash, to serve as Panchayati Raj Minister in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s government. Prakash, a computer engineering graduate, is not a member of either house of the Bihar legislature but is expected to enter the Legislative Council soon.
Those stepping down include state party president Mahendra Kushwaha, vice-president Jitendra Nath, and several state general secretaries and district heads. In their resignation, they accused the veteran leader of abandoning his long-standing stance on ethics and socialist values.
“He often talks about moral values in politics, but when the time came, he preferred his family for power,” Mahendra Kushwaha told reporters. Another leader, Jitendra Nath, said the decision left him “unsure” about his political future, adding that the party had fallen into “the trap of dynastic politics.”
RLM won four of the six seats it contested in the recent Bihar Assembly election and secured one ministerial berth as part of the NDA alliance.
Upendra Kushwaha defended his decision, saying his son was a qualified professional who deserved a chance to prove himself. “Deepak Prakash worked hard, earned a degree, got a job. Give him some time and he will meet your expectations,” he said, likening the backlash to the mythological “Samudra Manthan” in which both nectar and poison emerged.
Kushwaha acknowledged the criticism but said he had taken a “tough choice” for the party.
