Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s denial of a Rajya Sabha seat to his party leader and Union Minister R.C.P. Singh has not only created a problem for the latter wherein he will have to resign his post, but also, more importantly, pushed the BJP-Janata Dal (U) alliance in Bihar (where the two parties run a coalition government) into an unknown territory of strain and mistrust.
On the face of it, Mr. Kumar is well within his rights to nominate any suitable candidate to the Rajya Sabha, but denying Mr. Singh, a Union Minister, is much more than a technicality. It reflects the fall in the clout of Mr. Singh, who used to head the JD(U) at one time and was the main interlocutor between the JD(U) and the BJP-led Central government.
According to those in the know, Mr. Singh’s downfall began during the 2020 Assembly poll in the State, which the JD(U) fought with the BJP but registered numbers lower than its ally. After that, in 2021, Mr. Singh was asked to negotiate with the BJP on the number of berths that the JD(U) wanted in the reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers.
