Patna, A single frame from the live broadcast of the Bihar Legislative Assembly on Tuesday has reignited the long-standing debate over dynastic succession in Indian politics, capturing members of three National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituent parties — Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), and Janata Dal (United) — seated in close proximity, each linked by family ties.
During the second day of the winter session, as legislators rose to congratulate the newly elected Speaker, Prem Kumar of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the camera inadvertently framed a tableau that opposition parties were quick to label emblematic of entrenched nepotism within the ruling alliance.
In the foreground sat Snehlata Kushwaha, RLM legislator from Sasaram and wife of party president Upendra Kushwaha. Two rows ahead was her son, Deepak Prakash, who, though not an elected member of either House, occupies a cabinet berth as Minister for Panchayati Raj.
Adjacent to Snehlata Kushwaha were Jyoti Manjhi, HAM MLA from Barachatti and mother-in-law of former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, and her daughter-in-law Deepa Manjhi, HAM MLA from Imamganj (Reserved). To Snehlata Kushwaha’s right sat Komal Singh, JD(U) legislator from Gaighat, daughter of JD(U) MLC Dinesh Singh and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP Veena Singh.
The serendipitous arrangement — mother-in-law and daughter-in-law from HAM, wife and minister-son from RLM, and a second-generation JD(U) legislator — offered critics a convenient visual shorthand for what they describe as the persistence of family-dominated politics even within parties that have historically positioned themselves as alternatives to the Yadav family’s grip on the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
The 2025 Bihar assembly election saw a significant number of candidates fielded on the basis of kinship. Among the winners were heirs of several prominent leaders across the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan, including Samrat Choudhary (BJP deputy chief minister), Tejashwi Yadav (RJD), Nitin Nabin (BJP), Shreyasi Singh (BJP), and Chetan Anand (RJD). Defeated scions included Tej Pratap Yadav (RJD), Sanjeev Singh (BJP), and several others.
Political observers note that while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar remains a rare exception among major Bihar leaders in not promoting immediate family members, most parties — including smaller NDA allies such as HAM and RLM — have increasingly relied on dynastic candidates to retain influence in reserved and traditionally loyal constituencies.
Neither HAM chief Jitan Ram Manjhi nor RLM president Upendra Kushwaha has publicly commented on the photograph that has rapidly circulated on social media and opposition WhatsApp groups. JD(U) spokespersons were unavailable for immediate reaction.
The episode underscores a broader reality: despite periodic rhetoric against “parivarvad”, family ties continue to serve as a reliable electoral asset in Bihar’s deeply factionalised politics, where caste loyalties and local influence are often inherited rather than earned afresh.
