Following the incident in which Kanhaiya allegedly assaulted the office secretary of the state CPI, the former JNU Students Union President has been ticked off by CPI leadership following which his ‘courtesy call’ on Nitish confidante Ashok Chaudhary is interpreted as part of the ongoing recruitment drive of the JD(U).
Having drawn a blank in the 2020 assembly elections, Upendra Kushwaha’s RLSP had been pushed to the margins of state politics. He too needed a bigger platform to stay relevant in the state. Koeris, the caste to which Kushwaha belongs, have been at the forefront of anti-upper caste movement in the state, so much so that late Jagdeo Prasad, the most prominent Koeri leader coined the slogan ‘abki saal ke bhado mein, gori ungli (white fingers of upper caste women) kado (muddy field) mein. Several decades ago, the Koeris launched the Janeu (sacred thread) discard movement and gave a call to stop enlisting services of priests for conducting marriages and other rituals.
Nitish Kumar and Upendra Kushwaha need each other. Apart from Kushwaha other state leaders like Shivanand Tiwari and Nagmani have also had some kind of love – hate relationship with Nitish.
It is to be seen though how long their present friendship lasts.
