Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Bihar’s chief minister for a record tenth time this week, installing a 26-member cabinet drawn from across the ruling National Democratic Alliance. Yet among the familiar political figures and predictable party quotas, one name stood out for its sheer unfamiliarity: Deepak Prakash.
Prakash, who has never contested an election and has spent much of recent years studying abroad, was inducted directly into the cabinet ,an unusual elevation even by Bihar’s often unpredictable political standards. His presence has triggered curiosity across Patna’s political circles, particularly because very little is known about his public life or professional record.
What is clearer is his lineage. Prakash is the son of Upendra Kushwaha, the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief and a long-standing figure in Bihar politics, currently serving in the Rajya Sabha. His mother, Sneh Lata Kushwaha, contested and won the Sasaram Assembly seat in the 2025 state elections.
Observers had widely assumed that Sneh Lata would be the RLM’s nominee for a ministerial berth in the new NDA government. Instead, the party pushed forward her son. The manoeuvre marks Deepak Prakash’s formal debut in politics, with government sources indicating he will be nominated to the Legislative Council within six months, as required for unelected ministers.
While his sudden ascent may have surprised many, it aligns closely with the caste arithmetic that underpins Bihar’s coalition politics. Both Nitish Kumar and Upendra Kushwaha hail from the Luv-Kush (Kurmi–Kushwaha) social bloc , a demographic cornerstone of the NDA’s support base.
By inducting Prakash, the government strengthens the Kushwaha representation in the cabinet, reinforcing a delicate social balance within the alliance at a time when each bloc’s loyalty remains crucial.
Prakash’s entry completes a remarkable phase of consolidation for the Kushwaha family. After losing the Karakat Lok Sabha seat in 2024, Upendra Kushwaha was nominated to the Rajya Sabha with NDA backing. In the 2025 Assembly polls, his wife won from Sasaram. Now, their son enters the state cabinet , a striking culmination after several turbulent years in Kushwaha’s political career.
The RLM itself has undergone dramatic fluctuations. The party was routed in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when aligned with the Grand Alliance, then suffered a heavy defeat when contesting independently in 2020. By 2021, Kushwaha merged his outfit with the JD(U), only to revive it again in 2023 as the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, re-entering the NDA fold.
Despite the alliance’s near-wipeout in the 2024 general elections — winning just one Lok Sabha seat in Bihar ,the 2025 Assembly results have unexpectedly resurrected RLM’s electoral standing. The party was allotted six seats under the NDA’s seat-sharing pact and won four, marking a significant rebound.
Prakash’s induction signals both political ambition and strategic risk. His lack of electoral experience may raise eyebrows, but the move strengthens the NDA’s internal caste equation and tightens Nitish Kumar’s alliance with the Kushwaha bloc.
Whether the little-known minister can establish himself as more than a political heir remains to be seen. For now, his appointment stands as a vivid illustration of Bihar’s dynastic political culture ,and of one family’s renewed prominence in the state’s shifting landscape.
