NDA Names Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha for Bihar Legislative Council Bypoll

Senior JD(U) leader Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha announced his candidacy for the upcoming Bihar Legislative Council bypoll, claiming he was named by the NDA. The bypoll, set for July 12, follows the disqualification of RJD MLC Rambali Singh Chandravanshi. Confusion abounds as NDA and party officials have not formally confirmed the news.

In an unexpected move, senior JD(U) leader Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha declared on Tuesday that he has been named by the NDA as their candidate for the upcoming bypoll to the Bihar Legislative Council.

The bypoll, scheduled for July 12, has been necessitated by the disqualification of RJD MLC Rambali Singh Chandravanshi. The annulment followed a complaint lodged by his own party in February.

Kushwaha expressed gratitude to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for reposing trust in him, stating, 'I will file my nomination papers on July 2.'

JD(U) office bearers noted anonymously that no official communication had been received from the party supremo regarding the bypoll. They speculated that Kushwaha might have been privately informed of the decision and prematurely made it public in his excitement.

BJP leaders have withheld comments on the matter.

A political journeyman, Kushwaha's career began in the 1990s with the Indian People's Front before a stint with the Samata Party, JD(U)'s predecessor. He left JD(U) in 2013 for Nitish Kumar's RLSP, which later collapsed. Kushwaha briefly joined the Lok Janshakti Party before returning to JD(U) in 2021, paralleled by another brief exit and formation of Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM).

The NDA ally RLM, which failed to win seats in the recent Lok Sabha polls, had been assured one seat each in Lok Sabha and the legislative council. The emergence of Kushwaha's candidature has reportedly unsettled the RLM, as confirmed by its general secretary Madhaw Anand, who clarified, 'Reports about candidature in the legislative council bypoll are misleading. Talks are still on in the NDA.'

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