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Senior Janata Dal-United leader Rajiv Ranjan popularly known as Lalan Singh, who was inducted as a minister in the Narendra Modi government on Sunday, has been among Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's closest aides for many years.
This Bhumihar leader has always been party supremo Kumar's strength, as this caste in Bihar is known to have wide political influence despite its small size.
Lalan was instrumental in stitching the JDU-RJD alliance in 2022. According to political observers, though Yadavs and Muslims are the traditional support bases of the RJD in certain areas of Munger, Jamalpur and Lahkisarai, Bhumihars and other upper-caste groups have been supporting Singh for the last several years.
Claims and counter-claims over an alleged rift between Singh and Nitish Kumar made headlines a few months ago as the political equations changed in the following months.
Singh won from Munger Lok Sabha seat for the third time. He had also represented the Begusarai constituency seat once, between 2004 and 2009.
His previous victories came in 2009, 2019 and 2024, but when he lost in 2014, Nitish Kumar nominated him as an MP in the Rajya Sabha, and later he was also appointed the party's national president.
Prior to this, Singh was nominated to the Bihar Legislative Council under the Governor's quota and made the Minister for Road Construction Department in the then Jitan Ram Manjhi cabinet in June 2014.
His induction and elevation despite the electoral loss sparked a rebellion in the JD-U led by Gyanendra Singh Gyanu who later defected to the BJP with a group of 12 MLAs.