RLM sidelined in council polls, Deepak’s ministerial post under cloud

Patna: The ministerial post of panchayati raj minister Deepak Prakash, son of Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha, is under a cloud after the RLM was sidelined in ticket distribution for the upcoming biennial elections to the legislative council. The uncertainty surfaced on Saturday as major allies of NDA finalised candidates for eight of the nine seats due for polls on June 18, leaving no room for Prakash in the ruling coalition’s quota.

The situation worsened when Union minister Chirag Paswan’s LJP(RV) announced party spokesperson Ashraf Ansari as its candidate, effectively taking the eighth of the likely NDA-backed seats. With that declaration, the NDA’s slate for the council polls is essentially complete, and Prakash’s chances of securing a seat in this election—seen as the most straightforward route to retain his ministerial berth—have sharply diminished.

A total of nine legislative council seats are going to polls on June 18. These are MLA-quota seats, meaning only members of the legislative assembly will vote. Given the assembly’s current numbers, a candidate needs a minimum of 25 MLAs’ votes to win. With its strong majority, the NDA is projected to win at least eight of the nine seats comfortably. The ninth seat is expected to go to the RJD-led opposition bloc, which has 35 MLAs.

On Friday, the BJP and JD(U) announced seven candidates: the BJP named Bhojpuri actor Pawan Singh, Sanjay Mayukh, Anil Kumar Thakur and Sheela Pandit, while the JD(U) fielded health minister Nishant Kumar, Bharti Mehta and Shivrani Devi Prajapati. On Saturday, the LJP(RV) added Ashraf Ansari as its nominee. With these eight names declared from within the NDA umbrella, it became clear that the RLM would not be accommodated and Prakash would not be contesting from the NDA quota.

Prakash took oath as a cabinet minister for the second time on May 7, but he is currently not a member of either the assembly or the council. Under Article 164(4) of the Constitution, a minister who is not a member of the state legislature must secure a seat within six consecutive months of appointment. Analysts said that if no alternative legislative route is found, Prakash would have to resign by Nov 6.

The LJP(RV) announcement reportedly caught the RLM off guard, as Kushwaha’s party was counting on that slot to secure a council berth for his son. Asked about Prakash not being named, Upendra Kushwaha said, “The process of filing of nomination papers will be over on June 8. There is time. Wait and see what happens.” All attention is now on the RLM leadership and the central BJP leadership to see whether a solution can be worked out to avert a resignation.

Along with these nine council seats, a byelection for one seat, vacated by former CM Nitish Kumar will also be held, on the same day (June 18). JD(U) has announced Lalan Prasad as its candidate against the one seat of the byelection.