• Source:JND
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Bihar politics is set to witness a new chapter beyond the state's tallest leader, Nitish Kumar, as the chief minister decided to exit state politics to pave the way for his son Nishant Kumar, an apolitical person and an engineer by profession. On Friday, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) formally announced the entry of Nishant into the state polity. Media reports suggested that Nishant will parachute to the Deputy CM post.

After a key meeting of JD-U, party leader Neeraj Kumar said, "Nishant Kumar will join the Janata Dal (United) tomorrow. He has decided to tour the entire state."

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However, JD(U) workers on Friday continued to protest the decision of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to enter the Rajya Sabha, a move seen as signalling the end of his more than two-and-a-half-decade-long stint in Bihar politics. At the JD(U) office in Patna, situated right across the street from the BJP's state headquarters, irate party workers staged a demonstration alleging a "conspiracy".

What Has Prompted Nitish Kumar To Launch His Son?

Meanwhile, a senior JD(U) leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, "A meeting of the legislative party has been called at the chief minister's residence late in the evening. Besides briefing the legislators about the recent developments, a decision will also be taken on the role to be assigned, in the party, to Nishant". Notably, the party had announced a couple of days ago that Nitish Kumar, who had formerly been averse to "dynasty politics," had agreed to launch his only son, in a move that is seen as an attempt to prevent the party from disintegration after the supreme leader, who turned 75 last week, hangs up his boots.

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Why Nitish Kumar Cannot Be Attacked Over Dynasty Politics

Nitish Kumar, in his four-decade-long political career, has criticised the dynasty politics. In recent times, he has been critical of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's son, Tejashwi Yadav, who is a top opposition leader in the state, for being heir to the political family. Now, Nitish Kumar's age and the fear of division in his party compelled him to swallow a bitter pill by launching his son into politics. However, the current scenario is in his favour. Currently, all active prominent politicians across party lines, be it the ruling or opposition side, are beneficiaries of dynasty politics.

The biggest criticism could have come from Tejashwi Yadav, but he himself is a part of the dynasty politics. Another Opposition party, Congress, also cannot target Nitish Kumar as party top leaders, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are all on the same board. On the ruling side, Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary is the son of Shakuni Choudhary. In the same vein, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan is the son of Ram Vilas Paswan, HAM's Santosh Suman Manjhi is the son of Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, BJP chief Nitin Nabin is the son of Nabin Kishore Sinha (former BJP leader), and the list is long. In such circumstances, it is unlikely that Nitish Kumar will be criticised for promoting dynasty politics in Bihar.

(With Agencies inputs)


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