'Non-legislator' son in Cabinet, Upendra Kushwaha to pressure BJP to honour MLC promise

With his son inducted into the Nitish Kumar Cabinet, Upendra Kushwaha has moved to secure the MLC seat promised to him by the BJP during seat-sharing talks ahead of the elections. In the 26-member Cabinet, the inclusion of Deepak Prakash - Kushwaha's son - took many by surprise. With no prior political experience, Deepak's sudden elevation drew scrutiny, especially since most expected Kushwaha's wife, Snehlata Kushwaha, to be the ministerial choice after she won her seat.

During negotiations with the BJP, Kushwaha secured six seats for his Rashtriya Lok Morcha and saw four of his candidates win, including his wife. But he was reportedly unhappy during the discussions, and it was then that the BJP is understood to have offered him a future MLC berth. Deepak, however, is not a member of either House. With BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Mangal Pandey moving to the Assembly, their MLC seats are set to fall vacant. By ensuring Deepak's induction into the Cabinet, Kushwaha is signalling that the BJP should now make good on its promise.

On Friday, responding to allegations of nepotism, Kushwaha took to social media to defend his decision, calling it a necessary step for the survival of his party. He said that in the past, his MLAs and MPs had deserted him, and he had "learnt a lesson." He also appealed for time for Deepak - an engineering graduate in computer science - to prove himself.