Rebellion growing in Upendra Kushwaha’s party in Bihar, two more MLAs maintain distance, 8 office-bearers resign

Speculation of dissent in the Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Morcha began doing the rounds yet again in Bihar after two MLAs skipped an event hosted by the party president in Patna on Wednesday (December 24, 2025). Leaders of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner, had indirectly expressed disappointment over the party choosing Mr. Kushwaha’s son Deepak Prakash, who is not yet a member of either House of the State Legislature, to be the Panchayati Raj Minister in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Cabinet. Earlier, Bajpatti MLA Rameshwar Kumar Mahto had raised questions on the leadership of Mr. Kushwaha and on Wednesday (December 24), Dinara MLA Alok Kumar Singh and Madhubani MLA Madhaw Anand, along with Mr. Mahto, skipped the Liti-Chokha (traditional dish) party hosted by Mr. Kushwaha at his official residence. They were in Patna but chose to meet newly appointed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national working president Nitin Nabin instead. Mr. Kushwaha is a Rajya Sabha member while his wife Snehlata won the recently concluded Bihar Assembly election from Sasaram. Mr. Kushwaha’s RLM had won four of the six seats it contested as part of the NDA alliance and received a ministerial berth. The latest development is a clear indication that all is not well and dissent is growing within the party. Mr. Singh and Mr. Anand did not respond to calls from The Hindu , but Mr. Mahto said, “The absence of the MLAs clearly indicates they agree with what I had said earlier -- politics should be for service of society, not for personal gains, earning money or for welfare of family.” He further said, “Now, problems will arise for those taking decisions on whims and fancies. If every politician only thinks about their own sons, daughters, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, then what happens to the party workers?” On December 12, Mr. Mahto posted a message on social media platform X without mentioning the name of Mr. Kushwaha and said, “When leadership intentions become murky, and policies begin to shift more toward self-interest than public interest, the public cannot be deceived for long.” Last month, seven RLM members resigned after accusing the party chief of promoting dynastic politics. On Thursday (December 25, 2025), Anant Kumar Gupta, the former State president of RLM’s business cell, along with seven office-bearers resigned from the party. Mr. Gupta said the RLM had deviated from its founding policies and principles. “There is no ideology in the RLM and now it is impossible to remain in the party while maintaining one’s self-respect. We have all submitted our resignations to the party’s national president Upendra Kushwaha,“ Mr. Gupta said. Sources in the RLM said that only a limited number of people were invited to the dinner party, including senior journalists of Bihar Mr. Kushwaha knew for a long time. The event had less than 25 attendees, including his Minister son and MLA wife. Union Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi made a sarcastic remark: “Upendra Kushwaha ji...

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