Former foes RCP Singh & Prashant Kishor unite: A real challenge to Nitish Kumar or just optics ahead of Bihar Election?
The merger means political foes turning friends. RCP Singh and Kishor were known to be fierce rivals during their stints in the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (Uinted). On Sunday, however, the two leaders showered praises on each other.
'I was fascinated by how the JSP has been speaking about issues that concern the common man. We are committed to work towards making Bihar beautiful and prosperous,' Singh said as he donned the JSP's yellow scarf while being into the party by Kishor in Patna.
How will the merger impact the political landscape in poll bound Bihar? Singh, former national president of JD(U), is a known OBC Kurmi face from Nalanda – considered Nitish Kumar's fortress.
Singh, expert said, may help the JSP consolidate a section of the Kurmi community – known as a core voter base of Nitish – in its favour. Kishor's party may get a boost among Kurmis, but not much, they said. More than a mass leader Singh is known for his organisational skills as a strategist.
'From the optics perspective, both RCP and Kishor, former Nitish aides, would come as a stronger force in targetting the JD-U chief ahead of elections. They would try to send out a message on how two former aides of Nitish Kumar have gone against him,' said Amitabh Tiwari, political strategist and founder of VoteVibe, a newly-founded firm at the forefront of political reasearch and sentiment analysis.
The Kurmi, along with sister-caste Koeri, which makes up approximately 7-8 8 per cent of Bihar's electorate, is a significant voting bloc, particularly in districts like Nalanda, Arwal, and Jehanabad of the state's Magadh region.
Apart form Nitish Kumar and his JD-U, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) depends on Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) to garner the support of the Kurmi-Koeri (Luv-Kush) vote base.
The 243-member Bihar assembly is voting by October-November to elect a new government.
Reacting to this new alliance, former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav has dropped strong hints that the BJP could be 'orchestrating the merger behind the scenes.
"Both of them were in JD(U), one a national vice president, the other a national president. Who is getting all this done and how it is happening, people of Bihar know everything," Tejashwi said while interacting with the journalists in Patna.
"If two rebels of JD(U) have come together, then everyone understands whose game this is. We don't need to say much. People are watching everything," he said.
RCP Singh is a 1984-batch IAS officer with 28 years of administrative experience. He first came in touch with Nitish in 2001 when the JD (U) chief was Union Minister of Railways Minister between 2001 and 2004. When Nitish became Bihar CM in 2005, RCP Singh was transferred to Bihar next year as a civil servant.
Later, Singh went on to be known one of the most powerful bureaucrat in Bihar and a key Nitish aide. In 2010, Singh took voluntary retirement from the civil services and formally joined the JD(U) where he went on to be known as an organisational man who functioned from behind the scene.
In 2018, Kishor, the political strategist-turned-politician joined the JD(U) as its national vice-president. It is said that Kishor's joining didn't go well with RCP Singh as he felt insecure. RCP Singh however continued to call the shots in the JD(U)
A 'cold war' ensued between Kishor and RSP Singh. Kishor quit the JD(U) in January 2020 and eventually launched his political party Jan Suraaj Party in October 2024
RCP Singh, however, rose to become the JD(U) national president. In July 2021, RCP Singh recommended himself for the lone Union Cabinet berth from the party's quota in the second Narendra Modi government. This perhaps upset Lalan Singh, the defacto number 2 in JD(U)
RCP Singh resigned from Union Cabinet in 2022 and later from the JD(U) after he was overlooked for renomination to the Rajya Sabha. RCP had been a Rajya Sabha member since 2010. Singh joined the BJP in May 2023. Nitish returned to the NDA in January 2024. Singh floated his Aap Sabki Awaaz Party last November.
After joining forces the two new friends in Bihar are expected to escalate their attack on Nitish Kumar. Kishor had planned to launch a signature campaign in Nalanda, protesting the state government's alleged failure to deliver on its promise of ₹ 2 lakh to 94 lakh poor families. However, he was barred from entering the village.
'As for impact on ground, I do not see that happening much. No matter what the perceptions says, Nitish Kumar is arguably the tallest Kurmi leader in Bihar as of now,' Tiwari said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
26 minutes ago
- The Hindu
U.S. is the largest market for some of the Indian textile and engineering goods, say exporters
Exporters of textiles, garments, and engineering goods fear that the 25% tariff imposed by the U.S. will not only lead to loss of orders but also put them in a quandary as no other market has the high volume demand as the U.S. The Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal met delegations from the textile and engineering export councils on Friday. 'We have impressed upon the Minister that for some of the textile products, 60% to 70% exports goes to the U.S. We cannot get such high volume from any other market and if we lose the US buyers, companies supplying these products will be hit hard,' said one of the textile exporters. In the case of engineering goods too, the U.S. is the leading buyer for some of the products for several years. 'The competing countries have relatively lesser tariff. Countries that have tariff higher than India are really not competitors. Hence, there should be a detailed study now on the product lines that will be hit by the 25% tariff,' said an engineering exporter. The exporters have urged the government to reintroduce the interest subvention scheme. Indian exporters, mainly the micro, small and medium-scale enterprises, have 2% to 3% disadvantage because of the high interest rates in India compared to the competing countries. Now, they will face higher cost disadvantage because of the tariff. The exporters have also sought supportive measures from the government so that they can supply at competing prices to the U.S. buyers.
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
Govt advocate Ajit Kumar appointed Patna HC judge
Patna: President Droupadi Murmu has appointed Bihar government advocate Ajit Kumar as a judge of the Patna high court. A notification to this effect was issued by the Union ministry of law and justice late on Friday evening. Justice-designate Ajit Kumar is scheduled to take oath of office at 4pm on Monday in the Centenary Hall of the Patna high court. Born on Nov 22, 1974, Ajit Kumar received his early education at the prestigious Sainik School, Tilaiya, now in Jharkhand. He went on to graduate from Delhi University and earned his law degree from the Campus Law Centre of the same university. Having enrolled as an advocate in 1999, he joined the Bar of the Patna high court in 2001. Over the course of his career, he also practised in the Delhi high court, Jharkhand high court and the Supreme Court, handling matters related to civil, criminal and constitutional law. With 25 years of legal practice across various constitutional courts, Ajit Kumar developed expertise particularly in labour and service law. He had also worked closely with the late former advocate general Ram Balak Mahto in the Patna high court for a considerable period. In 2015, he was appointed as govt counsel for Bihar in the same court. He continued representing the Bihar govt as its advocate till his elevation to the bench. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Friendship Day wishes , messages and quotes !
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
JD(U) begins women outreach drive
After the BJP, its alliance partner JD(U)'s women's wing has launched an intensive public outreach campaign — from the state to the booth level — to connect with the state's women voters as the assembly polls in the state are drawing near. JD(U) begins women outreach drive Women form nearly 48% of the total voting population. As against BJP's women outreach plan aimed at covering 120 assembly segments in first phase, the JD(U) has started its campaign to reach out to women across the state and in all constituencies simultaneously. The party held an important meeting of women leaders recently in which state party president Umesh Kushwaha held a detailed discussion keeping the goal of '225 seats in 2025 and Nitish again' at the centre. 'A strategy was decided to strengthen the organisation, ensure active participation of women workers and accelerate the work of the party at the grassroots level. It was also decided that the women's unit of JD(U) will run an extensive public relations campaign and will take the welfare schemes and developmental achievements of the government to the people,' said Kushwaha. 'Under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, Bihar has witnessed transformative initiatives aimed at women empowerment, bringing remarkable changes to their lives. Landmark measures such as free education for girls from KG to post-graduation, prohibition of alcohol, free bicycles for school-going girls, 35% reservation for women in government jobs, and 50% reservation in panchayat elections have significantly uplifted the status of women across the state,' said Anupriya Yadav, JD(U) state spokesperson. The JD (U) does not want to leave these achievements and works go unnoticed. 'To further spread awareness of these achievements, the women's wing of JD(U) has launched a campaign wherein female party workers will visit every district, engaging women through community talks, door-to-door visits, and seminars. This outreach aims to ensure that the positive impact of CM Nitish Kumar's policies is communicated effectively, inspiring more women to take advantage of these opportunities. Such initiatives not only showcase progressive governance but also pave the way for a more inclusive and empowered Bihar,' said Anupriya Yadav. The JD(U) feels that Kumar's contribution to the welfare and upliftment of women is unmatched in any other state of the country. Earlier, Kumar himself, in a bid to reach out to women voters, had launched 'Mahila Samvad Rath' under which JD(U) workers visited different districts of Bihar and inform women about the efforts made by the Nitish government to uplift their socio-economic condition. The campaign also highlighted the schemes related to women's empowerment, employment, and education. The Nitish government is also relying heavily on the members of the 10.75 lakh women self-help groups (SHGs) to 'act as a link' between the JD(U) and women voters, a party leader said, adding that 'women are the political force of the JD(U)'. 'Though the women voters are not taken seriously by parties, they have turned out to be the decisive voters in the recent Bihar Assembly elections 2020. This was the third time consecutively when women had outnumbered the men voters. In three phases of Bihar elections, women voters' turnout increased consistently from the first phase to the third phase. In the first phase, they voted 5% more than men, in the second phase 6%, and in the third phase, they outnumbered men by 11% benefitting NDA the most,' said Gyananendra Yadav, associate professor of Sociology, College of Commerce, Patna.
