Mahato’s Facebook post revives speculation of defections from RLM

Bihar’s political corridors are buzzing after a fiery social media post by Rameshwar Mahato, MLA of Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM). His Facebook remark is being widely seen as a direct strike at Kushwaha, who overlooked his own MLAs to elevate his son, Deepak Prakash, despite the fact that he is not a member of any House, to a ministerial berth from the RLM quota.

Taking a sharp dig at Kushwaha on Friday, Mahato said, “Success in politics doesn’t come only from speeches but from sincere intentions and firm policies. When a leader’s intentions become unclear and policies begin to turn toward self-interest instead of public interest, then people cannot be misled for long. Today’s citizen is aware, he carefully examines every step, every decision, and every intention.”

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Though Mahato did not name Kushwaha in his post, it is widely regarded as a response to the RLM chief’s recent remarks defending his family-centric decisions.

Soon after the formation of the government in Bihar, Kushwaha faced criticism for promoting his family. He defended himself by saying his son is capable and described the decision as essential and unavoidable for preserving the party’s existence and future.

Expressing his views through a post on X, the RLM chief said, “If you have classified my decision as dynastic politics, then please try to understand my compulsion. To save and preserve the party’s existence and future, this step was not only necessary but unavoidable.”

Despite his explanation, two of the party’s senior leaders, RLM National Vice-President Jitendra Nath and State General Secretary Rahul Kumar, resigned within a week. Soon after, five more RLM leaders quit, accusing Kushwaha of “promoting his family.”

Kushwaha continues to face accusations of sidelining party workers and leaders to favour his family members. Mahato’s latest salvo reflects the growing discontent within the party. Several senior leaders who oppose dynastic politics have quietly remarked that the party no longer has space for ordinary workers.

Rumours of internal rifts intensified when three RLM MLAs, Madhav Anand, Alok Singh, and Rameshwar Mahato, met Bihar Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar, while Kushwaha’s wife and minister-son were absent.

Mahato’s post has once again fuelled speculations of the party’s possible collapse in the near future, as political observers believe that these three MLAs may join the JD(U) soon.

Rameshwar Mahato won from the Bajpatti Assembly seat in Sitamarhi district defeating RJD candidate Mukesh Kumar Yadav by a margin of around 4,400 votes. He secured 99,144 votes against 95,749 votes of his nearest rival.