There was palpable wrath in Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) after it was clear that the party was being given just one berth in the union cabinet. The reshuffle of the Union Cabinet was a major jolt to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, who was expecting a position in the cabinet, but the new cabinet reshuffle shattered his dreams of being the hero despite being the second-largest party in the alliance.
Nitish Kumar in the past few months have been politically active and was expecting a larger share in the recent cabinet expansion by the Modi government. As reported by TFI, a day before the expansion, when asked about what he is expecting from the cabinet expansion, Nitish Kumar said, “I’m not aware of any formula, Whatever the respected Prime Minister decides we will accept,” adding that RCP Singh – the National President of his Janata Dal-United who is currently in Delhi- has been authorised to finalise everything with BJP.
Nitish Kumar has been cut to size, and it is indicative of the times to come. He was definitely eyeing more cabinet berths. With Sushil Modi exiled and Nitish cut to size, we can expect a better BJP unit in Bihar and possibly a BJP CM in the future.
— Atul Kumar Mishra (@TheAtulMishra) July 7, 2021
RCP Singh, the confidante of Nitish Kumar, is the only one who got a cabinet berth as the Minister of Steel which was a major jolt to Nitish Kumar who was very confident about his seat in the new cabinet. He was definitely eyeing more berths in the cabinet.
Seen as a man of few words, the diminutive RCP Singh demonstrated that he was in tune with what was Nitish Kumar’s thoughts and beliefs when he stoutly defended the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Parliament, which was being vehemently opposed by the then JD(U) national vice president Prashant Kishor who was ultimately expelled from the party.
Read More: Nitish Kumar wanted to be the hero of the cabinet expansion, he didn’t even get a supporting act
As reported by TFI, the BJP’s Central Election Committee decided to field former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi for the Rajya Sabha seat that fell vacant last month after the death of LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan. At first glance, the decision might seem like a snub to LJP and Paswan but it was done to keep Sushil Kumar Modi far away from the Bihar BJP state unit.
The Modi-Shah duo has a close eye on Nitish Kumar’s activities and attempts to consolidate power in different ways, they have already sent a message to him by keeping JD(U) limited to a single seat in the new cabinet. The message is loud and clear Nitish should not forget the fact that it is because of the Modi government he can still hold power as the CM of Bihar. We can still expect a better BJP CM in Bihar in the near future. It is high time Nitish Kumar’s should understand that creating unnecessary political drama will only put his position as a CM at risk.