Deepak Prakash. File.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Bihar Governor Lieutenant-General (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain on August 5, 2026 nominated Deepak Prakash to the Bihar Legislative Council to fill the vacancy following the resignation of nominated member Devesh Kumar on July 31, 2026. Mr. Prakash is the son of Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) president and Rajya Sabha member Upendra Kushwaha, an ally in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
On July 30, 2026, the Supreme Court, while hearing a petition, had asked the Bihar Government how Mr. Prakash, an unelected Minister, could hold the position even six months after assuming office. Following this, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC Mr. Kumar resigned, making way for Mr. Prakash’s appointment as MLC.
Mr. Prakash, 36, has been the State’s Panchayati Raj Minister since November 20, 2025 without being a member of either House of the State Legislature. Even after the BJP’s Samrat Choudhary replaced Mr. Nitish Kumar as the Bihar Chief Minister on April 15, 2026, and Mr. Choudhary expanded his Cabinet on May 7, 2026, Mr. Prakash remained the State Panchayati Raj Minister.
On May 30, 2026, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court by one Rakesh Kumar Singh seeking the invalidation of Mr. Prakash’s appointment as Minister as a “fraud upon the Constitution”. Article 164 (4) of the Constitution grants Ministers a period of six months to get elected to either House after being appointed a Minister.
Mr. Kushwaha expressed his gratitude upon his son’s nomination in a post on social media platform X. “I express my heartfelt gratitude to the nation’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, JD(U) (Janata Dal-United) national president Nitish Kumar, BJP national resident Nitin Nabin, Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, LJP (Lok Janshakti Party) (Ram Vilas) national president Chirag Paswan, and Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi for nominating Deepak Prakash — a youth leader of the RLM and Bihar’s Minister of Panchayati Raj — as a member of the Bihar Legislative Council,” Mr. Upendra Kushwaha said.
“I am fully confident that Deepak Prakash will further strengthen the development of Bihar and the interests of its people with complete dedication and a spirit of public service,” he added.
Mr. Prakash, an engineering graduate, entered politics as a member of the RLM in 2025, and was appointed as Minister of Panchayati Raj by the then CM Mr. Nitish Kumar. His mother, Snehlata Kushwaha, is the RLM MLA from the Sasaram Assembly constituency in Rohtas district.
Published – August 05, 2026 11:42 pm IST
