Former BJP MP’s remarks worry party leadership in poll-bound Bihar

The remarks by former BJP MP from Bihar and Union Minister, Raj Kumar Singh, against a few leaders of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the poll-bound State have come as a source of “embarrassment” to the party leadership.

Mr. Singh got elected MP from Bhojpur (Ara) in Bihar on BJP ticket in 2014 and 2019. A former bureaucrat, he has also served as a Union Minister. In 2024, he lost the Lok Sabha election to Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) candidate Sudama Prasad by a margin of over 58,000 votes. Since then, Mr. Singh has been absent from party meetings. He was also missing from rallies and other events related to the Assembly election, slated to be held in October-November later this year.

Mr. Singh, hailing from the Rajput community, was known in his Lok Sabha constituency for development works.

Recently, Mr. Singh blamed two leaders of the BJP and two from the ruling ally JD(U) for “conspiracy and betrayal”, which he said, led to his defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha poll. “I have categorically told the top leadership of the both the BJP and the JD(U), including J.P. Nadda and Sanjay Jha, that if those leaders are given ticket in the upcoming Assembly election, I’ll campaign against them,” he said. Mr. Nadda is the BJP president and Jha is the working president of the JD(U).

The four leaders whom Mr. Singh has blamed for his defeat are Raghvendra Pratap Singh, Amrendra Pratap Singh (BJP MLAs from Barhara and Ara), and Radha Charan Shah, alias Seth ji, and Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha, both JD(U) MLCs. All are likely to contest the upcoming Assembly poll.

Both the BJP and JD(U) leaders have vehemently denied Mr. Singh’s allegations. “Such allegations should not be made on whims and fancies…I had campaigned for him (Mr. Singh) in my constituency of Jagdishpur…electoral defeat and victory are part of democracy,” said Mr Kushwaha.

Kishor’s allegations

Mr. Singh did not stop here. Recently, he demanded that the NDA leaders – Ashok Choudhary of the JD(U) and Samrat Choudhary, Dilip Jaiswal and Sanjay Jaiswal of the BJP – must “come clean or, step down” from their positions over allegations levelled against them by Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor. Mr. Ashok Choudhary is the Rural Works Department Minister in Nitish Kumar’s Cabinet and also party’s national general secretary.

Mr. Kishor had alleged Mr. Ashok Choudhary, along with his wife and daughter who is an MP from the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), and others, had purchased land worth ₹200 crore in the name of Manav Vaibhav Vikas Trust, which is linked to his daughter-in-law’s family. Mr. Ashok called the allegations a “blatant lie” and accused Mr. Kishor of maligning his daughter’s image. He also sent a ₹100-crore defamation notice to Mr. Kishor.

Earlier, Mr. Kishor, had also made serious allegations against BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary over his alleged “fake name and birth certificates as well as educational qualifications”. He also accused State BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal of “usurping a minority medical college in Kishanganj”, and senior BJP leader and former State party chief Sanjay Jaiswal of indulging in “corruption”.

“All these leaders must come out clean as these allegations are bringing a bad name to the NDA and the government. If they have evidence to dispute the allegations, they should come forward with it or step down from their positions,” said Mr. Singh, who was earlier Minister for Power, New, and Renewable Energy and also Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship at the Centre. Mr. Singh has also served as Union Home Secretary and District Magistrate of Patna.

The BJP leaders in Bihar, though, have maintained a studied silence over Mr. Singh’s remarks. However, some of them admitted, on condition of anonymity, that the remarks caused an embarrassment to the party, which is gearing up for the Assembly poll. “He [Mr. Singh] must be venting his frustration over his defeat in 2024 LS poll,” they said.