PATNA: Nishant Kumar, 50-year-old son of outgoing Bihar CM and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, who had stayed away from public life for long, entered active politics and joined the party on Sunday after his father filed his Rajya Sabha nomination three days ago.Throngs of party workers thronged the JD(U) headquarters in Patna, welcoming Nishant with garlands and a celebratory cavalcade of elephants, horses and camels.
Nishant vows to strengthen the organization
Dressed in a white kurta pajama and flip-flops, he was inducted by the party’s acting national president Sanjay Kumar Jha, who handed over the membership card to him at a program attended by senior officials. BIT alumnus Mesra had stayed away from politics until his 75-year-old father decided to move to Rajya Sabha after serving 10 terms as CM over about two decades.
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Addressing the workers in his first address as a party member, Nishant Kumar promised to strengthen the organization and justify the trust reposed in him. “I will do everything possible to live up to the expectations of workers, the party and the public,” he said.Nishant termed his father’s decision as a personal choice respected by the family and said he would continue to work under his guidance. He credited his father for the development of Bihar. “People will not forget your contribution,” he said to loud applause.Soft-spoken and reserved, Nishant rarely interacted with the media. After joining the party, he offered prayers at Mahavir Mandir in Patna, visited a grave near the Patna high court and distributed sweets to journalists. “Ishwar, Allah and Waheguru, they are all equal,” he said.The opposition reacted sharply. RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s daughter Rohini Acharya mocked Nitish’s long-standing criticism of dynastic politics. “Chacha ji…where has your empty argument on the politics of dynasties disappeared? There has always been a big gap between your words and actions,” he wrote in X, adding that Nitish represented “political and ideological contradictions”.Congress Rajya Sabha MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh welcomed Nishant’s entry but said Nitish himself should answer questions on dynasty politics.Nishant’s debut puts him in a long list of Bihar CM’s sons who entered politics. Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi’s family has one of the largest political footprints, with several of their nine children actively involved in politics. Lalu’s younger son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav served two terms as deputy CM.
