Upendra Kushwaha | |
|---|---|
 Kushwaha in 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
| Assumed office 27 August 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Vivek Thakur |
| Constituency | Bihar |
| In office 8 July 2010 – 4 January 2013 | |
| Preceded by | George Fernandes |
| Succeeded by | K. C. Tyagi |
| Constituency | Bihar |
| President ofRashtriya Lok Morcha | |
| Assumed office 20 February 2023 | |
| Preceded by | office established |
| Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development | |
| In office 26 May 2014 – 10 December 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Shashi Tharoor |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| In office 16 May 2014 – 23 May 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Mahabali Singh |
| Succeeded by | Mahabali Singh |
| Constituency | Karakat |
| President ofRashtriya Lok Samata Party | |
| In office 13 March 2013 – 2021 | |
| Member ofBihar Legislative Council | |
| In office 2021 – 24 February 2023[1] | |
| Member ofBihar Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 2000–2005 | |
| Preceded by | Tulsi Das Mehta |
| Succeeded by | Achyutanand Singh |
| Constituency | Jandaha |
| President of Rashtriya Samata Party | |
| In office 2007 - 29 November 2009 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Upendra Kumar Singh[2] (1960-02-06)6 February 1960 (age 65) Vaishali district,Bihar, India |
| Citizenship | Indian |
| Political party | Rashtriya Lok Morcha(2023—present) |
| Other political affiliations | Janata Dal (United)(2021—2023);(2009—2013); (2004—2007) Rashtriya Lok Samata Party(2013—2021) Rashtriya Samata Party(2007—2009) Samata Party(2000—2004) |
| Children | Deepak Prakash |
| Residence(s) | Patna,Bihar, India |
| Alma mater | Bihar University |
As of 4 March, 2016 Source:My Neta | |
Upendra Kumar Singh, commonly known asUpendra Kushwaha (born 6 February 1960)[3] is an Indian politician, and a former Member ofBihar Legislative Council andBihar Legislative Assembly. He has also served as Minister of State for Human Resources and Development in theGovernment of India.[4] Kushwaha is a formerMember of Parliament (MP) from theKarakat constituency inRohtas district,Bihar, and a member of theRajya Sabha. He was the founder and president of Rashtriya Samata Party (RSP), which merged intoJanata Dal (United) (JDU) in 2009. Later, he formedRashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), which also merged with JD(U) in 2021.[5][6][7] On 20 February 2023, Kushwaha resigned from all positions in JD(U) and formed his own party calledRashtriya Lok Morcha due to his political problems withJD(U) andNitish Kumar.[8] Kushwaha contested the Lok Sabha election of 2024 from Karakat constituency and finished at a distant third position. However, he was elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha in August 2024.[9]
Upendra Kumar Singh was born to Muneshwar Singh and Muneshwari Devi[10] on 6 February 1960 inVaishali, Bihar, into a middle-class family. He graduated fromPatna Science College and then gained aMaster of Arts (MA) in Political Science fromBR Ambedkar Bihar University, Muzaffarpur. Singh worked as a lecturer in the politics department of Samata College. He added 'Kushwaha' to his name at the suggestion ofNitish Kumar: the surname is associated with caste identity and was supposed to improve his political standing. Kushwaha had worked withKarpoori Thakur andJay Prakash Narayan and, like the other significant leaders of the 1990s such as Nitish Kumar,Lalu Prasad Yadav andRam Vilas Paswan, Kushwaha hadsocialist leanings. His father Muneshwar Singh was acquainted with Karpoori Thakur; he sent Kushwaha to work with Thakur as political worker during his graduation days.[3] In his political life, Kushwaha considers former Deputy Chief Minister ofMaharashtraChhagan Bhujbal his political mentor. Kushwaha has spoken of his cordial relations with Bhujbal andSharad Pawar; he credits Pawar for helping him during a difficult period in his political life.[11]
Upendra Kushwaha entered politics in 1985; from then until 1988, he was State General Secretary of YuvaLok Dal. According to political analysts, Kushwaha enjoyed the support of voters of theKushwaha caste in some districts of theMagadh andShahabad divisions. A majority of political workers accompanying Upendra Kushwaha originate from this region. There are other districts where members of the Kushwaha caste who were not under his influence.[12]
Kushwaha became National General-Secretary of Yuva Janata Dal from 1988 to 1993. He also worked as General-Secretary forSamata Party from 1994 to 2002. Kushwaha was Member ofBihar Legislative Assembly in 2000–2005 and was appointed Deputy Leader of Bihar Legislative Assembly. In March 2004, after the Lok Sabha election, Sushil Modi was elected to the Lok Sabha and the number of MLA of JD(U) exceeded those of theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Kushwaha, who was a one time MLA then, was made leader of the opposition in Bihar Legislative Assembly.[13][14][4]
Kushwaha started electoral politics in 2000, winningJandaha constituency.[3] He was dismissed from Janata Dal (United) in 2007.[16] Kushwaha founded the Rashtriya Samata Party in February 2009 against the backdrop of alleged marginalisation of theKoeri caste andautocratic rule by theBihar state government ofNitish Kumar. The formation of the party was supported byChhagan Bhujbal, Deputy Chief Minister ofMaharashtra.[17] In November 2009, the Rashtriya Samata Party was merged intoJanata Dal (United) due to an improved relationship between Kushwaha and Kumar.[16]
On 4 January 2013, Upendra Kushwaha, who at the time was aRajya Sabha member, resigned from Janata Dal (United), saying the Nitish model had failed and that the law-and-order situation was becoming as bad as it had been seven years before. He also said Nitish Kumar runs his government through autocratic means and that he had turned Janata Dal (United) into his "pocket organisation".[18]
Kushwaha foundedRashtriya Lok Samata Party on 3 March 2013, and unveiled the party's name and flag at a rally atGandhi Maidan.[4] He contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as part of theNational Democratic Alliance (NDA), whichNarendra Modi led. Kushwaha was elected to Karakat constituency and was appointed Minister of State in Human Resource Development.[19][20] In December 2018, Kushwaha resigned from the ministry and left the NDA, accusing Modi of not fulfilling his election promises regarding Bihar.[21]
Kushwaha indicated his discontent with the NDA leadership due to diminishing importance as an ally. Kushwaha's RLSP left the NDA alliance because it was not given appropriate seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The NDA leadership was sceptical of Kushwaha's influence on members of theKoeri caste and believed they could win elections in Bihar without his support. According to political analysts of Bihar, Nitish Kumar holds considerable influence on the Koeri andKurmi communities as a counter to whichBJP had earlier selectedKeshav Prasad Maurya as itsUttar Pradesh chief. The BJP was sure Nitish, who was now a BJP ally and had gained a considerable reputation in Bihar due to his development model, would be popular.[22][23][24] Kushwaha then joinedUnited Progressive Alliance (locally known asMahagathbandhan), which includedRashtriya Janata Dal,Hindustani Awam Morcha, andVikassheel Insaan Party. He contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election in theKarakat andUjiyarpur constituencies.[25] Kushwaha failed to win the seats.[26] The grand alliance of parties under the leadership ofTejashwi Yadav failed to win any seats in Bihar in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.[27]
During the2019 Lok Sabha election, Upendra Kushwaha's speech, in which he referred to the newly formed alliance of his party andRashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) as "Kheer" sparked controversy. According to political analysts,RLSP represented Kushwahas, who are also called Koeris in Bihar, while RJD representsYadavs. The traditional occupation of these castes is growing paddy (rice) and cattle domestication. Kushwaha's reference to Kheer was said to be the implicit indication of an alliance between two influential backward castes.[22] This statement came at a convention organised inShri Krishna Memorial Hall, Patna, to commemorateB. P. Mandal, on the occasion of his anniversary. Referring to public and political workers gathered there, he said:
kheer can be prepared with the milk from the Yadavs and rice from the Kushwahas ...[a] We will get the sugar from Brahmins, Tulsi from [RLSP Bihar chiefBhudev Choudhary], and can make delicious kheer with the dry-fruits from the backward classes and Dalits. Then we can relish the delicious kheer together.[28]
After losing in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Kushwaha warned NDA leadership if the election results deteriorated, blood will flow on streets. Later in a notice fromElection Commission of India, he said his intention was not the provoking of violence.[29]
In September 2020, prior to theBihar Legislative Assembly election, Upendra Kushwaha's party RLSP left the RJD-and Congress-led coalition that was formed during the 2019 Lok Sabha election to counter theNational Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar. Kushwaha announced the formation of an alliance called theGrand Democratic Secular Front (GDSF) in partnership withBahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The GDSF contested all 243 seats in the Bihar Assembly against three more political fronts: theNDA, which included JD (U) andBJP;UPA (locally known as Grand Alliance orMahagathbandhan), which included RJD, Congress and Vikassheel Insaan Party; and an alliance of small parties that was led byJan Adhikar Party.[30] Kushwaha cited the unacceptability of the leadership ofTejashwi Yadav as the reason for his separation from the "Grand Alliance".[31]
The GSDF suffered a serious setback: its only success wasAIMIM winning five seats in Muslim-dominated areas of Bihar—particularly Simanchal—and BSP winning one seat. The allies had obtained fewer votes than Kushwaha's RLSP, which secured 1.77% of the vote, and failed to win any seats.[32] The RLSP polled well in a number of constituencies, includingDinara and Saffron.[33]
Kushwaha leftJanata Dal (United) on two occasions but after the split of 2013, he lost much support and the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party suffered massive election defeats, most notably in the 2019 Lok Sabha election and the2020 assembly election. The decline of support of the Kushwaha caste also resulted in setbacks for JD(U), which was reduced to 43 seats in the 2020 election to the Bihar Legislative Assembly. This led to RLSP being merged into its parent JD(U) and Kushwaha was made the party's parliamentary board president.[7] Soon after his induction into JD(U), Kushwaha was nominated to theBihar Legislative Council, the upper house of the Bihar Legislature.[34]
Kushwaha engaged in anti-coalition politics against theMahagathbandhan in 2023, when he challenged the leadership ofTejashwi Yadav as the successor to Nitish Kumar. In several press conferences, he said Janata Dal (United) (JDU) had weakened and there was need to strengthen it again by reviving the party's core support base. Kushwaha also demanded a greater role for the Koeri caste in the electoral politics of Bihar. He said the incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Tejaswi Yadav had grabbing the political rights of otherOther Backward Castes (OBCs) and that after theYadavs andKurmis, the premiership of Bihar should pass into the hands of a Kushwaha leader, considering the leader of these three castes together launched the political partyTriveni Sangh in the 1930s. He also saidExtremely Backward Castes, which have been neglected in electoral politics, should play an active role, and urged Kumar and Yadav to take steps to push them forward.[35][36][37][38][39]
Amidst speculation he would join theBhartiya Janata Party (BJP), Kushwaha said he would remain in JDU, working towards strengthening it. Despite the anti-coalition statements made by Kushwaha, JDU did not try to warn him or oust him from the party. Nitish Kumar left the decision whether to stay in the JDU or resign to Kushwaha. Kumar, in a statement to media, asked Kushwaha to settle the dispute, if any, through conciliation within the party.[40][41][42] According to political analysts, the declaration of Tejaswi Yadav as the successor of Nitish Kumar ended Kushwaha's hopes, making him contest the choice of Yadav over him. This made Kushwaha worry about JDU's future, which according to him was on the verge of decline and such a step would seal the party's fate.[43][44]
Kushwaha's continuous attack on Nitish Kumar's decision to promote Tejashwi Yadav as his successor did not bring any action by the JDU leadership but the party's national presidentLalan Singh said in a press statement that Kushwaha is no longer the "president of parliamentary board of the JDU", the position to which Kushwaha was appointed after merging his partyRLSP into the ruling JDU.[45]
Amidst a political crisis in the state, in which Kushwaha was important factor, Kushawa'sconvoy of vehicles was attacked during a visit toBhojpur. The attackers belonged to an organisation called "Kushvanshi Sena" and had ideological conflict with Kushwaha. The Sena members said they showed black flags to the convoy and Kushwaha's supporters and political activists assaulted them.[46][47]
Kushwaha resigned from JDU and announced the formation of a new party calledRashtriya Lok Janata Dal on 20 February 2023. This party was formed after a merger of his trusted aides in JDU and those in his social-reform organisation "Mahatma Phule Samata Parishad".[48] Kushwaha had called a meeting of his aides in JDU and members of Mahatma Phule Samata Parishad in Patna on 19 and 20 February, planning to merge them to form his new political entity.[49]
Soon after formation of Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal, Kushwaha announced the launch of "Virasat Bachao Yatra", a statewide tour that included important places in Bihar and connecting with ground-level political workers to gain support against the Nitish Kumar government. The yatra, in its first phase, started from Bhitiharwa Village ofWest Champaran district and coveredMuzaffarpur,Sitamarhi, Bajpatti,Madhubani,Araria,Madhepura,Samastipur andSaran district. The second phase of this tour was planned to coverNalanda,Sheikhpura,Bhagalpur,Nawada,Gaya,Rohtas,Sasaram,Bhojpur, andArwal districts.[50][51]
Before 2024 Indian general elections (Lok Sabha elections), there was a buzz over whether Kushwaha's RLJD would become a part of National Democratic Alliance led by Bharatiya Janata Party or not. According to some of the senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, the BJP was not solely dependent on Kushwaha to gain support among the members of numerically strong Koeri caste of Bihar, to which latter belonged. It had raisedSamrat Chaudhary from the same caste group as its Bihar unit president, as the BJP leadership believed that sole reliance on Kushwaha was not enough. This believe emanated from the performance of Kushwaha in 2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly elections, when, his party was successful in winning only two assembly seats out of twenty three seats contested by it as an ally of BJP. It was hence unable to break the grand social coalition formed by coming together ofLalu Prasad Yadav andNitish Kumar together in 2015 Bihar Assembly elections.[52]
In 2024 seat distribution of National Democratic Alliance, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (earlier known as Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal) was given one parliamentary constituency to contest. It was stipulated in media that Kushwaha wanted more seats and thus he was pacified by the BJP leadership with one seat in Bihar Legislative Council.[53]
Kushwaha faced a tough electoral contest as Bhojpuri singer and actorPawan Singh, who was earlier given the symbol of Bharatiya Janata Party and made a candidate fromAsansol Lok Sabha constituency decided to contest the election fromKarakat Lok Sabha constituency. Singh denied the proposal of Bharatiya Janata Party and decided to contest as independent candidate from Karakat; he was later expelled by BJP for contesting againstNational Democratic Alliance candidate Kushwaha. However, Singh continued his electoral campaigns with large number of stage shows involving musical concerts of Bhojpuri singers and actors. It was speculated before the election that he will be able to cut a large number of votes of the Forward Castes, specially his ownRajput caste, which had been transferred to NDA candidate Kushwaha in his absence.[54]
After the results were declared, it was reported that Kushwaha was pushed to third position with over twolakh votes polled in the favour of Pawan Singh. The drifting of Rajput votes away from the NDA candidate led to victory ofCommunist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation politicianRaja Ram Singh Kushwaha from the Karakat seat. The loss of Upendra Kushwaha also affected caste equation in the wholeShahabad region as theKoeri people voted against BJP and Rajput candidates in the constituencies in the vicinity of Karakat. It was reported that there was palpable anger amongst the members of Koeri caste on Pawan Singh contesting as independent candidate from Karakat against Kushwaha. The BJP lost Arrah, Aurangabad, Sasaram, Buxar seats with its veteran Rajput leadersR. K. Singh andSushil Kumar Singh getting defeated by fair margin of votes.[55][56]
Following the 2024 Indian general elections, Kushwaha was nominated as the candidate of National Democratic Alliance to theRajya Sabha, the upper-house of Indian parliament.[57]
As per its predetermined plan, National Democratic Alliance nominated Upendra Kushwaha along with Naman Kumar Mishra for Rajya Sabha Bypolls on 21 August 2024. Their nomination was attended by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary.[58]
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In his early political career, Kushwaha was a favourite of Nitish Kumar, who invested a lot in him and made him leader of opposition inBihar Legislative Assembly. Kushwaha, however, lost his assembly election in 2005 despite support from Kumar. According to political analysts, this was an attempt on part of Kumar to create a strongKurmi-Koeri alliance. After his loss of 2005, Kushwaha blamed Kumar for his defeat and left JDU to join theNationalist Congress Party, becoming its state-unit chief. In 2010, after returning to JDU, Kushwaha in JDU, Kumar sent him toRajya Sabha; however, Kushwaha later resigned and formed theRashtriya Lok Samata Party in 2013.[59]
Kushwaha's RLSP fought the 2014 Lok Sabha election in alliance with the BJP and won the three seats it was allotted. In reward, he was made Union Minister inNarendra Modi's first cabinet. When Nitish Kumar, who contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election alone without being part of the BJP-ledNational Democratic Alliance (NDA), returned to the NDA, Kushwaha was overlooked by NDA leadership as they focused more on Nitish. Despite performing poorly in the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, in the latter of which Kushwaha formed his GDSF, Kumar invited Kushwaha to merge his RLSP into JDU. This was done because JDU observed a shifting away of voters away from Kushwaha's caste, and in more than 12 seats in some parts of Bihar, RSLP candidates led a defeat of JDU candidates.[60]
In 2021, Kushwaha merged his RLSP into JDU and Kumar appointed him Parliamentary Board chairman. Kushwaha, however, later said Kumar was not giving him appropriate time to discuss party affairs. He also said the party was weakening from the inside.[61] Earlier, when Kushwaha was JDU's parliamentary board chairman, he consistently defended Kumar from attack by opposition leaders. Kushwaha reacted sharply to the statement of Rashtriya Janata Dal leaderShivanand Tiwari, who said Nitish Kumar once told him he wanted to open anAshram and teach political workers, an indication of Kumar's retirement from politics. Kushwaha defended Kumar and in media briefing, he said Nitish should work more and the nation still wanted his service.[62]
After Kushwaha's tussle with JDU's leadership became public in 2023, and a picture of some BJP leaders meeting him in hospital was aired, rumours of him leaving the JDU reappeared. When asked about Kushwaha's possible defection from JDU, due to his closeness with the BJP, Nitish Kumar told media "they should ask Kushwaha, what he wants" and"tell [Kushwaha] to talk to me."[63][64]
In 2016, while he was serving as Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Kushwaha expressed his views on reservation in the private sector forOther Backward Classes. In a rally organised in commemoration of social reformerJyotiba Phule by former MPRaj Kumar Saini, Kushwaha said the dominant section of society have influence in all parts of the administration and the OBCs have no representation in some core sectors of the economy. Saini supported Kushwaha and demanded organisations working for the welfare of OBCs should speak against the under-representation of OBCs in some of the key institutions.[65]
In 2022, when he was serving as the Parliamentary Board president of Janata Dal (United), Kushwaha accused theBhartiya Janata Party (BJP) of plotting to destroy thecaste-based reservation forOther Backward Castes. He also criticised the BJP's key leadership for remaining silent on the issue of conducting a nationwide "caste-based census", which according to Kushwaha, while he was serving as Union Minister as a BJP ally, the BJP's senior leaders promised to conduct.[66][67]
Kushwaha'sRashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) organisedKisan Choupals against the2020 Farm Bills. These village-level conferences were aimed at making farmers aware of the provisions of the Farm Laws brought byNational Democratic Alliance government in 2021. According to RSLP political activists, the laws were not in interest of small farmers. Kushwaha announced the participation of his political workers in the all-India protest organised by farmers in Delhi if the bills were not taken back.[68] Kushwaha asked theNarendra Modi government to take the bills back because they were supposed to serve the interest of big farmers and the corporations, and were detrimental to small and marginal farmers.[69]
In 2016, theGovernment of Bihar underNitish Kumar passed a bill in the Bihar Legislative Assembly to ban the consumption of alcohol in the state. Severe punishment were imposed on those found guilty. In 2022, Kushwaha in a press statement spoke against the state government's liquor policy. He was opposed to the way the ban was being implemented. Kushwaha accused government officials of colluding with alcohol suppliers and asked the people to volunteer to make the prohibition successful.[70][71][72]
Kushwaha was an ardent supporter of the project of Bihar government for enumeration of population of various caste groups residing within the state.[73] It was an ambitious project and first such large scale exercise to know the strength of individual castes after 1931. However after the results of the caste survey were published on 2 October 2023, he was among the leaders to term it as fake and manipulated survey. The survey lowered the strength of many caste groups which were considered more preponderant in the state. Soon after the results, he commented that the data were collected in haste and also alleged that even his own family was not counted and no one from the side of government came to his house to ask about his caste. Kushwaha also termed the report to be half baked as the data of only population was published on 2 October. He demanded that the socio-economic profile of various castes should also be kept in public domain as it will help government to formulate policies to uplift them.[74]
As union minister, Kushwaha worked in the area of improvement of education by sanctioning a number ofKendriya Vidyalayas across the country in his capacity. Two of those were sanctioned in his native state of Bihar. Kushwaha sanctioned the funds required for setting up of KVs for ensuring quality education and even announced that his party will put pressure on theGovernment of Bihar through protests, to expedite the process of establishment of KVs, if the land for it was not allocated by the state government in time.[75]
While serving as Minister of State (Human resource development), now calledMinistry of State (Education), Kushwaha raised the issue of reforming theCollegium System of appointment to the higher judiciary. Highlighting the humble beginnings of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and incumbent presidentRam Nath Kovind, he asked why the opportunity to become a judge of the higher judiciary should be closed for communities that are considered a "weaker section". Kushwaha also said theSupreme Court of India judges worry about their successors and practisingnepotism.[76] Following the demand, the RSLP organised a discussion of reforms of the Collegium System in ten state capitals, beginning withNew Delhi.[77]
To support thereservation in the judiciary for the "weaker section", Kushwaha also launched a campaign called "Halla Bol Darwaja Khol Campaign". At the same time, an anti-reservation protest was being organised across Bihar and while travelling toEast Champaran to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kushwaha was greeted with protests by anti-reservationists. According to police, one person was arrested in connection with the misbehaviour with Kushwaha and sixty protesters remained out of reach.[78][79][80]
According to Kushwaha, theRashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) 15-year rule in Bihar is responsible for the poor conditions of educational institutions. In a convention organised by his RLSP party inRajgir during his tenure as Union Minister, he put many demands before the Nitish Kumar government to rectify the state's education system. The demands were aimed at the development of lower as well as higher educational institutions.[81]
Kushwaha has demanded quality education in Indian villages. According to him, 90% of those who are in need of education live in villages, where there has been severe degradation in quality of government schools. He also lauded theCentral Board of Secondary Education for maintaining a decent quality of education across the country.[82][83]
In 2016, Kushwaha inaugurated the new infrastructure and building for theAll India Council for Technical Education. At the inauguration meeting, he expressed concern over engineers being paid a minimum salary of₹10,000 to₹12,000 in the country after graduating from private technical institutions. He urged the creation of a system in which the companies would visit campuses to select meritorious engineers.[84]
In 2019, RLSP party workers, under leadership of Kushwaha and other senior leaders, conducted a march towardsBihar's Raj Bhavan, pressing for educational reforms but Bihar Police initiated alathi charge to stop them from reaching their destination. In this incident, Kushwaha was injured and was admitted intoPatna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH). According to General Secretary of RLSP, Satyanand Prasad Dangi and former MPBhudeo Choudhary also received serious injuries.[85][86] Soon after this incident, Maharashtra leaderChhagan Bhujbal met Kushwaha at PMCH and criticised the NDA government of Bihar for the lathi charge. He also said the government had plotted to kill Kushwaha.[87]Pappu Yadav, who also met Kushwaha in PMCH, also supported these allegations.[88]
| Election | Constituency | Party | Result | Vote | Opposite candidate | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Karakat | RLSP | Won | 42.90% | Kanti Singh | RJD | 29.58% |
| 2019 | Karakat | RLSP | Lost | 37.19% | Mahabali Singh | JDU | 47.21% |
| Ujiarpur | RLSP | Lost | 27.51% | Nityanand Rai | BJP | 56.11% | |
| 2024 | Karakat | RLM | Lost | 24.61% | Raja Ram Kushwaha | CPIMLL | 36.89% |
| Election | Constituency | Party | Result | Vote | Opposite candidate | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Jandaha | SAP | Won | 33.47% | Achyutanand Singh | Ind | 29.57% |
| 2005 | Jandaha | JDU | Lost | 21.75% | Achyutanand Singh | LJP | 38.64% |
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| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Leader of theRashtriya Lok Samata Party in the16th Lok Sabha 2014–2021 | President of parliamentary board ofJanata Dal (United) incumbent |
