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Upendra Kushwaha filed his nomination for Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
– Photo : Amar Ujala Digital
Expansion
After the murder of the father of Vikassheel Insaan Party chief Mukesh Sahni, who made a record of 200 public meetings with Tejashwi Yadav in the Lok Sabha elections, some media organizations (not ‘Amar Ujala’) speculated that he would be sent to the Rajya Sabha on behalf of the National Democratic Alliance. Well, that was not supposed to happen. Because, ‘Amar Ujala’ had told long ago that a deal had almost been done between the NDA parties for the Bihar assembly elections at the time of the Lok Sabha elections itself. The Lok Sabha election result was supposed to have an impact on this deal and now it seems to be happening. Therefore, when former Union Minister and Rashtriya Lok Morcha chief Upendra Kushwaha filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Mukesh Sahni was discussed all at once. The question is arising whether the Bharatiya Janata Party will not do the same to Upendra Kushwaha as it did to Mukesh Sahni? We are not saying this, the question is in the air. Those who understand the new BJP are not denying this apprehension.
Remember what happened with Mukesh Sahni
Mukesh Sahni was then with the NDA in Bihar. In the NDA, initially he was not being given seats for his party and when he was given seats, they were with the BJP candidates. Mukesh Sahni was also made a minister by the BJP in Bihar, but was given such a seat in the Legislative Council that his term would end midway. Here his term ended and he lost the ministerial post. On the other hand, his MLAs left the entire party and went to the BJP. It is not very old, it is a matter of two years ago only. Sahni considered this a deceit and before this Lok Sabha election, he took refuge in the Rashtriya Janata Dal in frustration. He got a chance to field candidates in the Lok Sabha elections, but did not win. In a way, Mukesh Sahni seems to be struggling for political existence.
What has happened with Upendra Kushwaha, what is possible next
In the Lok Sabha elections, Upendra Kushwaha insisted on his favourite seat Karakat, and he was given that seat. After this, Bhojpuri actor Pawan Singh, who was in the BJP, filed an independent nomination from Karakat. This seat turned out to be as difficult for Upendra Kushwaha as it could have been easy. Finally, when the BJP announced the expulsion of Pawan Singh from the party, Upendra Kushwaha expressed happiness, but by then it was too late. Upendra Kushwaha came third on the Karakat seat. After this, the BJP assured him of sending him to the Rajya Sabha and also announced his name much earlier, but also kept him from filing nomination. A day before the last date for filing nominations, the BJP fielded Manan Kumar Mishra from its party. As soon as Manan Kumar Mishra’s name came, Upendra Kushwaha became apprehensive whether he would get the seat vacated by Misa Bharti’s resignation or the one with Vivek Thakur. Nominations were filed on Wednesday and he had to file nomination on the seat of Vivek Thakur. There is about two years of tenure left on this seat, while there are about four years left on the seat of Misa Bharti. Meaning, despite having the experience of being a Union Minister and the important participation of Kushwaha caste in NDA, Upendra Kushwaha was definitely fooled somewhere.
Is BJP doing this keeping the history in mind?
About a year before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Upendra Kushwaha was a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet. He was the Minister of State for Human Resource Development. But, just as Pashupati Kumar Paras resigned from the Union Cabinet before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, in almost the same way Upendra Kushwaha also pulled out of the Modi cabinet. Paras left just before the elections, Kushwaha left at the right time. At that time, Kushwaha was not getting along well with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. Then the time came back in which Upendra Kushwaha became close to Nitish Kumar again. Kushwaha got a decent place in Nitish Kumar’s party Janata Dal United. But, when Nitish’s other close aide Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh took over the command of the party, Kushwaha himself had to leave the party at one time. He turned back to the NDA. Then Nitish Kumar was in the Mahagathbandhan.
Are you thinking about something or smiling at the trust you have received for the Assembly?
When Nitish himself took over the command of JDU at the end of last year, within a month JDU returned to BJP. JDU’s re-entry into NDA amidst preparations for Lok Sabha elections shocked Upendra Kushwaha. He was expecting at least three seats for his party, but due to the division of a large part of NDA into BJP-JDU, he got only Karakat seat for himself. Even then he entered the election smiling. Then after losing, he kept smiling even when his name was nominated for Rajya Sabha. Now when he got a chance to contest in Rajya Sabha for two years, he also filed nomination with a smile. Now it remains to be seen whether some big plan is hidden in his smile or he is tolerating everything because of the trust he got for the assembly elections.