The Rashtriya Lok Morcha, a Bihar ally of the BJP, is facing internal turmoil after seven senior leaders resigned from the party. The resignations followed RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha's decision to appoint his son, Deepak Prakash, as a minister despite him being neither an MLA nor an MLC. The party had won four out of six seats it contested in the recent Bihar Assembly polls as part of the NDA coalition and received one ministerial berth. The departing leaders accused Kushwaha of promoting dynastic politics and favouring his family over elected legislators and party workers. Among those who quit are the state president and multiple state general secretaries. The controversy has highlighted issues of nepotism within a party whose coalition partner, the BJP, often criticizes dynastic politics in rival parties. Kushwaha's wife is also a sitting MLA, while he himself serves as a Rajya Sabha MP.
Senior Leaders Exit Over Nepotism Allegations
Jitendra Nath, who held the position of RLM's official number two, led the exodus after resigning along with six other prominent party figures. Among them were state president Mahendra Kushwaha, state general secretary and spokesperson Rahul Kumar, and general secretaries responsible for various districts including Nalanda, Jamui, and Lakhisarai. Nath, who had been associated with Upendra Kushwaha for nine years, accused the party chief of desperately promoting his family after the party drew a blank in the 2020 Assembly polls. He termed the appointment of a non-legislator son as minister a case of blatant favouritism. The resigning leaders questioned how Upendra Kushwaha, who once positioned himself as a potential successor to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, had abandoned socialist values by choosing family over party workers and elected representatives.
Source: Link