File photo: Nishant Kumar
NEW DELHI: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is a rare regional heavyweight who has been vocal in his disdain of dynastic politics and made it a point to keep his family members, including his only son Nishant, out of any limelight. As politics would have it, Nishant is now being seen by the JDU cadre with keen anticipation to step in to keep the party rooted to its support base as his father moves out of his two-decade long stewardship of Bihar.As Nishant Kumar appears set to make his political debut, the decision has been driven as much by filial considerations as by political necessity.Signs of unease in a section of JDU workers over post-Nitish era were visible after a swift turn of events leading to the CM filing his nomination for Rajya Sabha, as some cried, some raised slogans and some toppled furniture and threw plates at the party’s Patna headquarters, which was to host a lunch, as it became clear that their ‘leader’ is set to pass the baton, in all likelihood, to a BJP nominee.
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JDU MP, Kaushalendra Kumar, Nitish’s choice to represent his home turf of Nalanda in Lok Sabha since 2014, said supporters of the Bihar’s longest serving CM are feeling sad. “If Nishant joins politics, they will be feel a little assuaged,” he said, emphasising that everyone in the party will finally go by what Nitish says.Kaushalendra, like Nitish, hails from the Kurmi community, whose members, including legislators of the party, are believed to be propelling the move to bring Nishant into politics. Several party members have said he will soon be joining politics. While there is no confirmation from the JDU brass on the role to be assigned to the 50-year-old engineering graduate, indications have been given that he will be joining the new Bihar govt as a deputy CM.With Nitish’s stint in Rajya Sabha to begin once the outgoing members retire on April 9, party functionaries said there is a month left to finalise details.JDU’s core support base has traditionally included Kurmis, sections of backward castes and Dalits, and while it has shown signs of fraying for several years, Kurmis remain solidly behind Nitish.With key confidants of Nitish coming from upper castes, there is a view from the party’s base that his son should be given a key role to convey continuity and its readiness for future battles as his father shows signs of withdrawing from the gruelling field of state politics.
