Upendra Kushwaha and Pashupati Kumar Paras did not get a place in the Modi cabinet.
– Photo : Amar Ujala
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National Democratic Alliance Parliamentary Party leader Narendra Modi took oath as the Prime Minister of the country for the third consecutive time. Former Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (National) President Pashupati Kumar Paras was present at the swearing-in ceremony held in the Rashtrapati Bhavan complex on Sunday, but in the visitors’ gallery. National Lok Morcha President and former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha was completely missing from the scene. Away from even calls. Both of them are leaders of one constituent party each of the National Democratic Alliance that formed the government at the Center. Both have only one hope, that one vacant Rajya Sabha seat from Bihar. The second and bigger hope was shattered on Sunday, when many leaders of other states who lost the Lok Sabha elections became Union Ministers and they were not sought for the long list of 71 ministers.
Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Thakur is now in Lok Sabha
Two Rajya Sabha MPs from Bihar tried their luck in the Lok Sabha elections 2024. One for the first time and one for the third time. Vivek Thakur, who tried his luck for the first time, contested from Nawada Lok Sabha seat on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket and won. In the opposition, Rashtriya Janata Dal national president Lalu Prasad Yadav’s elder daughter Misa Bharti defeated former Union Minister Ramkripal Yadav of BJP quota in the Pataliputra seat in her third attempt. That means, these two Rajya Sabha seats of Bihar have fallen vacant. One of these seats was with the BJP and should remain. In such a situation, it is certain that the BJP can drag one of its leaders to Delhi through the Rajya Sabha.
Pashupati is already eyeing this option
Pashupati Kumar Paras resigned from the post of Union Minister due to his stubbornness of not allowing his nephew and late Ram Vilas Paswan’s son Chirag Paswan to contest from Hajipur seat. He could not understand on time that BJP had once given importance to Pashupati Kumar Paras instead of Chirag Paswan so that Nitish Kumar would not get offended. After becoming a minister in Modi 2.0, Paras felt that he was more important to BJP than Chirag. This illusion left him nowhere. He was adamant to contest from Hajipur seat and BJP confirmed Chirag Paswan for this seat. Paras could not understand this even then. Due to his stubbornness, Paras resigned from the Union Cabinet in a hurry when NDA was sidelined in seat sharing. He came to Bihar and kept waiting for the offer of Mahagathbandhan, but did not get any response. After this, Paras expressed faith in NDA again. He held many press conferences. He also attended NDA’s election rallies. During this time, he said that he had got the assurance of reaching Delhi through Rajya Sabha in April itself. Now it remains to be seen whether he reaches Delhi through this route or not. However, even after reaching Delhi, he is unlikely to get the post of a minister.
Upendra Kushwaha’s condition is even worse
BJP gave Upendra Kushwaha a chance to contest in the Lok Sabha elections. He was also given his favourite seat of Karakat. But the problem was that Bhojpuri actor Pawan Singh, who got a ticket from Asansol in the first list of BJP, filed his nomination from Karakat. Pawan Singh was openly counselled by the then Union Minister RK Singh. But the gamble backfired. RK Singh lost even his Ara seat. Upendra Kushwaha came third in Karakat. The Left candidate of the Mahagathbandhan won and Pawan Singh secured the second position. Before the voting, Upendra Kushwaha did not consider Pawan Singh as anything and did not see any conspiracy, but now he has hinted that he was cheated or deceived – everyone knows. Kushwaha campaigned more vigorously in the other NDA seats of Bihar than in his own seat. Kushwaha went to meet caste groups. But he could not get the entire NDA vote in his seat. Now he is also admitting that the conspiracy that Tejashwi Yadav and Mukesh Sahni were talking about before the elections had substance. In such a situation, now the BJP has to show that it was not involved in that conspiracy. The only proof of this is that the Rajya Sabha is the only way for Upendra Kushwaha to get a respectable place in the NDA. It remains to be seen whether the BJP gives him a place in the Rajya Sabha or not.