Dropped by Nitish, R C P Singh leaves ministerial future to Modi

JD-U leaders contend that R C P Singh may have misled the BJP leadership into believing that Nitish Kumar was ready for a smaller share in power at the Centre.

Chastened by the snub from his Janata Dal-United party, which denied him another term in the Rajya Sabha, Union Steel Minister Ram Chandra Prasad Singh on Monday said he will seek advice from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on whether he should continue in the Union Cabinet.

Talking to reporters for the first time after being blindsided by the party he once headed, Singh, however, swore by his loyalty towards Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the de facto leader of the JD-U, claiming that he had become a minister in the Union Cabinet with "full approval" of the latter.

"For all that I have achieved in my political career so far, I thank Nitishbabu. I will continue to work for the party organisation in whatever capacity he deems fit for me. As far as the Union Cabinet is concerned, since it is the prime minister's prerogative I will have to seek his advice. If he says I should resign, I will do so," said the bureaucrat-turned-politician.

Singh is serving his second consecutive tenure in the Rajya Sabha, which comes to an end in July. As per rules, he can continue as a Union minister, without being a member of either House of Parliament, for not more than six months.

The JD-U sprung a surprise on Sunday when it announced its Jharkhand unit chief Kheeru Mahto as the candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls in Bihar.

R C P Singh, a former UP cadre IAS officer who was the JD-U national president till the time he got inducted into the Union Cabinet, pooh-poohed suggestions that the Bihar chief minister was upset over his accepting a ministerial berth despite the latter being opposed to a 'token representation' and insisting on a 'respectable' share.

Notably, Nitish Kumar had turned down the offer of 'token representation' made by the BJP to all allies soon after the 2019 Lok Sabha election, which saw Modi returning to power with a brute majority.

R C P Singh's induction in the Cabinet last July was viewed in many quarters as a softening of stance by Nitish Kumar in the wake of his diminished strength in the Bihar assembly in the 2020 polls.

However, many JD-U leaders claimed on condition of anonymity that Nitish Kumar was still insistent on a greater share in the Union Cabinet in view of the fact that following the exit of the Shiv Sena and the Akali Dal, the NDA was bereft of major allies and his party was the BJP's oldest and largest coalition partner.

The JD-U leaders also contended that R C P Singh, who belongs to the same Nalanda district and Kurmi caste as Nitish Kumar, might have misled the BJP leadership into believing that the Bihar CM was now ready for a smaller share in power at the Centre.

Despite his professed admiration for Kumar, R C P Singh did not seem impressed with speculation that his political mentor was a "prime ministerial candidate".

"You tell me how is that possible. To become the PM, you need 273 MPs. Our party is confined to Bihar. People like H D Deve Gowda became PM, but how long did they last? Our leader Nitish babu has already made history. He is the longest serving chief minister of the state," said the Union minister, who is seen by many in the JD-U as having grown too close to the BJP.

The former JD-U president also rubbished speculation about his tug of war with his successor, Rajeev Ranjan 'Lalan' Singh.

"I had accompanied him when he was filing his nomination papers from Munger during the Lok Sabha polls," R C P Singh said. "I have excellent relations with all colleagues in the party."