MC Explainer: Upendra Kushwaha and his love-hate relationship with Nitish Kumar

Upendra Kushwaha, who had merged his Rashtriya Lok Samata Party with the JD(U) less than two years ago, accused the RJD of having strayed from the socialist ideal of decentralization of power and "concentrating all authority within a family".

Just about two years after merging his Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), former union minister Upendra Singh Kushwaha bid goodbye to the latter on February 20.

As he announced his exit, Kushwaha, 63, said he would start a new political outfit – Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal.

An influential leader of the Kushwaha caste, this is not the first time the disgruntled leader has parted ways with Nitish Kumar. He has been changing sides from the time he joined active politics and has left the JD(U) twice before – in 2007 and 2013.

Moneycontrol explains who Kushwaha is and what his exit means to the JD(U) in Bihar.

Who is Upendra Singh Kushwaha?

Born in Vaishali district of Bihar on February 6, 1960, Kushwaha graduated from Patna Science College and pursued a masters in political science from Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University. He worked as a lecturer at Samata College in Vaishali.

He entered politics in 1985 as general secretary of the Yuva Lok Dal and was associated with the political outfit for three years. In 1988, he joined the Yuva Janata Dal and served as its national general secretary.

He switched sides in 1994 and became general secretary of the Samata Party initially formed by George Fernandes. With the patronage of voters of the Kushwaha caste, he started his electoral journey in 2000 in alliance with JD (U) and was elected as MLA from Jandaha assembly constituency till 2005.

He was appointed deputy leader of the Samata Party in the Bihar legislative assembly, but he was expelled from Janata Dal (United) in 2007 following differences with Nitish Kumar and launched the Rashtriya Samata Party in February 2009.

Relationship with Nitish Kumar

After launching his political outfit, he merged with the JD(U) in November 2009, months before the 2010 assembly polls in Bihar. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2010.

However, he once again left the JD(U) in January 2013 in protest against the law and order situation under Nitish Kumar’s leadership in Bihar. On March 3, 2013, Kushwaha founded the RLSP.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, Kushwaha joined the National Democratic Alliance and was elected from Karakat parliamentary seat in Bihar. He was made minister of state in the human resource development ministry.

However, Kushwaha exited the NDA in December 2018, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not fulfil his poll promises to the people of Bihar.

In the run-up to the 2019 general elections, he joined hands with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and contested from two Lok Sabha constituencies –Ujiyarpur and Karakat – but lost from both.

On March 14, 2021, Kushwaha again merged his RLSP with the JD(U) and was nominated to the Bihar legislative council.

What is his latest fight with Nitish Kumar?

Kushwaha’s tussle with Nitish Kumar started on December 13, 2022. Nitish Kumar, while chairing a joint meeting of the legislators of all seven parties of the Grand Alliance, said his deputy and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav would lead the alliance in the 2025 Bihar assembly polls.

Kushwaha was unhappy with the decision and showed his resentment to the entire JD(U) leadership. His view was that the Bihar chief minister should have chosen leaders from the JD(U) belonging to the Kurmis or Kushwaha castes, who form the main support base of the party.

Kushwaha alleged Nitish Kumar was acting as per the suggestions of people around him. Kushwaha claimed he had suggested to Nitish Kumar that he should keep the leadership of the alliance in his hands.

While announcing his latest decision, Kushwaha said he would seek an appointment with the chairman of the legislative council to resign from his membership of the house, saying, “I cannot barter my conscience for perks.”

Impact of his exit

Ahead of the 2024 general elections, Kushwaha has hinted at merging with the NDA again. His party didn’t win any seat in the previous assembly elections in Bihar, but his party candidates did dent the JD(U) by getting 5,000 to 39,000 votes in 30 assembly segments.

Kushwaha’s exit is seen as a setback to Nitish Kumar because voters of his caste command a vote share of 6 percent in Bihar. With a stronghold in regions such as Magadh and Shahabad, the NDA stands to benefit if his party joins the alliance.

In 2021, when Kushwaha joined hands with the JD(U), Nitish Kumar himself touted the alliance as Luv-Kush, saying the Kurmis and the Kushwahas have come together. The joint voter share of both castes play an important role for Nitish Kumar’s politics.