Why Bihar players are vying to celebrate Rajput icons – Maharana Pratap to Veer Kunwar Singh

On April 23, both the BJP and the RJD had participated in various events in Patna to commemorate Kunwar Singh’s death anniversary. While the BJP had organised a public meeting with Saran MP and former Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy as the chief guest, RJD leader and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly Tejashwi Yadav was the chief guest at a function organised by the Saran Vikas Manch (SVM), an apolitical forum led by Saran-based leader Shailendra Pratap Singh.

At a gathering that included Rajput MLAs such as the BJP’s Shreyasi Singh and Independent legislator Sumit Kumar Singh, Rudy said, “We (Rajputs) have long been used as ladders to success for others. We have to now ensure that we are not taken for granted by anyone. It is time to get united and show our strength.”

Though Rudy did not single out any party for “ignoring Rajputs”, his speech obliquely hinted at the BJP-led NDA for not giving Rajputs their due. Though eight members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet are from Bihar, none of the three Rajput BJP MPs from the state – Radha Mohan Singh and Janardan Singh Sigriwal, besides Rudy – were named Cabinet ministers after the NDA’s win in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Tejashwi, meanwhile, showed urgency in attending the SVM’s event as he flew in to Patna from Kolkata and cancelled a scheduled press briefing. While responding to the outfit’s demand for an 80-foot statue of Kunwar Singh, Tejashwi said: “Give us one chance to form the government, we will have a much bigger statue of the 1857 rebellion hero. His horse alone would be 80-feet high… We repose a lot of faith in Rajputs. Support us and if I fail you, throw us out in the next polls.”

During the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the RJD leader had antagonised Rajput voters by saying at a Jehanabad rally that “Babu (saheb) ko thanda kar denge”. In local parlance, Rajputs are often referred to as “babu saheb”. This, combined with frequent criticism of RJD national president Lalu Prasad for polarising the communities along the “backward versus forward” caste divide, had led to anger among Rajputs towards the RJD.

However, Tejashwi had later clarified, saying, “What I had meant was that I would set right corrupt babus (bureaucrats) if the RJD plays a part in the government at the Centre. I always have great respect for the valorous community of Rajputs.” He also pointed out that his party had prominent Rajput leaders such as the late Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and state party president Jagdanand Singh.

Speaking to The Indian Express, SVM convener Shailendra Pratap Singh said: “We are supporting Tejashwi Yadav in our bid to make him the Bihar Chief Minister after the 2025 Assembly polls. We have seen how the BJP and JD(U) have treated Rajput leaders as second-class citizens. The Union Cabinet has eight ministers from Bihar but none from the Rajput community. In past Assembly polls, there have been several instances of the NDA denying tickets to worthy Rajput candidates. We can no longer play sidekicks to these parties. We are looking up to the RJD that has been talking of inclusive politics with its ‘A to Z’ pitch.”

The SVM has considerable influence in the districts of Saran, Bhojpur, Kaimur and Rohtas.

JD(U) leader Sanjay Singh organised a function in Patna on Friday to again commemorate the birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap.

“It was at my request that Bihar CM Nitish Kumar installed a bronze statue of Maharana Pratap near S P Verma Road in Patna. For us, Maharana Pratap symbolises inclusivity as his army had people from all castes. It is sad that some people are confining great icons of history to caste and religion,” Singh said.

Upper castes in Bihar, which include Rajputs, constitute about 10.5% of the state’s population and have often tilted the balance since the dominance of Mandal politics in the state in the 1990s. Accounting for 3.45% of the state’s population, Rajputs are the second-biggest upper caste group after Brahmins at 3.65%. The NDA has created a vote bank among Rajputs since the 1990s. By 2010, the NDA garnered more than 90% of the upper caste votes, with the RJD accused of being allegedly “anti-upper castes”.

Of the 243 Assembly seats in Bihar, about 90 seats have the Rajput population exceeding 40,000 and another 50 seats have over 30,000 Rajputs. Rajputs are spread across Bihar, with a fair concentration in Saran, Aurangabad, Bhojpur, Kaimur, Rohtas and Banka.

Currently there are 29 Rajput MLAs in the Bihar Assembly – 19 from the BJP, six from RJD, two from JD(U), one from Congress and one Independent.

The Nitish Kumar-led NDA government has four Rajput ministers – two from the BJP, one from JD(U), and an Independent. In the Lok Sabha, there are six Rajput MPs from Bihar – three from the BJP, and one each from the JD(U), LJP (Ram Vilas) and RJD.

Bihar has seen several prominent Rajput leaders since Independence. Anugrah Narayan Sinha, a member of the Constituent Assembly and the first Deputy CM of Bihar, was one such leader. Sinha had played second fiddle to Shri Krishna Singh, the first CM of Bihar, in the state Congress. In the 1957 Assembly polls, Sinha had unsuccessfully challenged Shri Krishna, among the tallest state leaders from the Bhumihar community, for the CM’s post. Since then, Rajput leaders have struggled to gain an upper hand in state politics.

In 1969, the Congress’s Rajput leader Harihar Singh was the CM for a brief four-month spell. From 1983 to 1985, another Rajput leader Chadrashekhar Singh was the Congress CM. The last Rajput CM of Bihar was Sinha’s son Satyendra Narayan Sinha, also from the Congress, for nine months in 1989.