Bihar politics churning: JD-U, BJP leave Steel Minister Ram Chandra Prasad Singh high and dry
Vibha Sharma
New Delhi, May 30
A major political churning appears to be in process in Bihar.
Though the suspense over the future of Steel Minister Ram Chandra Prasad Singh is over, his party, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), and the BJP have both left him high and dry in the nominations to the Rajya Sabha elections.
In a major political development on Sunday, the JD-U decided not to send its lone Union minister back to the Rajya Sabha for a third consecutive term. It instead announced the name of its Jharkhand state president and former MLA Khiru Mahto, who, too, belongs to the Kurmi community, like Singh.
Meanwhile, the BJP, too, named its two candidates for Bihar. It dropped sitting Rajya Sabha member Gopal Narayan Singh, retained Satish Chandra Dubey and fielded Shambhu Sharan Patel, a former JD-U leader, hailing from the extremely backward caste.
Ram Chandra Prasad Singh is said to have the biggest hold over the JD-U after Nitish Kumar, who was upset over his “closeness” with the BJP and “attempts to break the party”.
Apparently, after the 2019 general election, Singh was deputed by the party to hold talks with the BJP on the issue of ministerial berths for the JD-U.
However, Singh himself landed the ministerial position “without consulting the leadership”, laying the beginning of differences between the two allies.
There was a buzz that he might be fielded by the BJP, which appears to have decided to play safe than rub Nitish Kumar the wrong way.
“Nitish Kumar was upset with Singh’s closeness to the BJP. With this decision, he has delivered the message that he is still the boss in the JD-U, which the BJP will have to respect,” say observers.
Meanwhile, all eyes are on the June 1 all-party caste-census meeting when Kumar begins his efforts to reassert his politics. The Bihar CM is supporting the cause and opposition parties are seeking a caste-based census, an issue that the BJP is reluctant to support.
As far as Singh is concerned, he will have to resign as cabinet minister from the Modi government. Though, he still has some time, it remains to be seen whether the party will allow him to continue or push for a new member in the Modi cabinet.
According to the rules, a minister either has to be a member of Parliament or become a member of either House within six months from the date of taking oath.