In an apparent bid to douse discontent, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) president and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha on Friday named Dinara MLA Alok Kumar Singh as the president of the party’s Bihar unit.
At a press conference in Patna, Kushwaha also named Madan Chaudhary, who was holding the additional charge of state president, as the national vice-president of the party, Prashant Kumar Pankaj and Subhash Chandravanshi as working state presidents, and Himanshu Patel as the state principal general secretary.
The organisational realignment comes after weeks of visible unease within the RLM that started whenKushwaha’s son Deepak Prakash was inducted into the state Cabinet despite not being a member of either House, triggering resignations by several office-bearers. Later, the party dissolved its state and district units.
Speculation about a possible split intensified after three of the party’s four MLAs, Madhav Anand (Madhubani), Alok Singh (Dinara) and Rameshwar Mahato (Bajpatti), skipped a party-hosted social event in Patna and were later seen meeting BJP president Nitin Nabin in Delhi. The fourth MLA is Snehlata Kushwaha, the party chief’s wife.
In his outreach to contain the discontent, Kushwaha earlier this month met Madhav Anand and Alok Singh at his Patna residence, where Mahato didn’t turn up. Mahato was conspicuous by his absence at the Friday’s press conference as well. Kushwaha, however, said it was not a legislature party meeting, and that Snehlata was also not present.
Last month when Snehlata was announced the party whip, Anand was appointed leader of the RLM legislature party in the Assembly, as a parallel move aimed at balancing legislative leadership.
The appointment of Alok Singh as state president is being seen as the most consequential element of the reshuffle. Singh, a Rajput leader from the Shahabad region, represents Dinara in Rohtas district. A minister during the previous NDA government, Singh has earlier also served as chairman of the RLM legislative board.
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With the Budget Session approaching and the NDA’s internal dynamics under close watch, the RLM leadership has sought to signal organisational stability while containing dissent through structural realignment rather than confrontation.
Himanshu Harsh is a Correspondent with The Indian Express, currently leading on-the-ground coverage in Bihar. With a reporting career rooted in the complexities of the National Capital Region (NCR), Himanshu specializes in the critical intersection of law, crime, and civic governance.
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An alumnus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, Himanshu brings a rigorous academic foundation to his investigative work. His expertise is characterized by a "ground-up" reporting style, most notably demonstrated during his extensive coverage of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where he analyzed shifting political landscapes and grassroots sentiment.
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