On November 20, Deepak Prakash, 36, took oath as Minister in the new Bihar government without contesting the recently concluded Assembly election. His father, Upendra Kushwaha, 65, is an MP who has spent over four decades in politics. His mother, Snehalata Kushwaha, contested the election from Sasaram and won. The family is part of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), a regional party that contested six seats and won four.
The RLM is part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which in Bihar is a conglomerate of four more parties: the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular).
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The RLM secured only one Ministerial post, which went to Prakash, who had helped his parents campaign. The software engineer, who graduated from MIT Manipal in 2011, has six months to get elected to the Assembly. “I am not new to politics. I have seen my father closely and also been active in politics since 2019,” he says. “As far as choosing me for the Ministerial post, my father would be a better person to respond about why the party made this decision.”
