Alliance partner JD(U) asks BJP to explain the ‘joining’ of independent MLC

Bihar Janata Dal (United) President Umesh Singh Kushwaha. File. | Photo Credit: PTI Ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner Janata Dal (United) on Monday (November 2, 2026) raised questions over independent MLCs joiningBharatiya Janata Party (BJP).Bihar JD(U) president Umesh Singh Kushwaha has questioned the BJP’s decision, asking under what circumstances a leader—who was expelled by the party for six years — was taken back so soon.On October 31, Members of the Bihar Legislative Council — Bansidhar Brajwasi and Rahul Raj “joined” the BJP, but hours later, both denied it and said that they had supported the BJP.Speaking to the reporters at Patna airport, Mr. Kushwaha said, “Whom does BJP include and remove is internal matter of BJP but the question arises that BJP had expelled Rahul Raj from the party for six years. Despite this, a decision was made to join him in the party so quickly after his election victory. The BJP and its top leadership should think over this entire matter. The identity of the NDA is unity, and alliance partners should keep an eye on it.”In the results declared last week, Mr. Brajwasi defeated Janata Dal (United)’s Abhishek Jha from Tirhut Graduates’ seat, while Rahul Raj defeated JD(U)’s Anand Pushkar from Saran Teachers’ seat.The 42-year-old Mr. Brajwasi first came in the limelight when as contractual teacher and former Teacher’s Union Leader had an argument with K.K. Pathak, the then-Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of the Education Department and due to verbal confrontation, he was suspended.After being suspended, he contested the council bypoll in December 2024 and won the seat by defeating Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) candidate Vinayak Gautam. He is an Extremely Backward Caste (EBC) leader from mallah (boatman, Fishermen) community. According to his affidavit paper submitted, he holds the degree of Master in Arts (MA) from Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Darbhanga in 2018.The 36-year-old, Mr. Raj from the Saran Teachers constituency, is from the upper-caste Rajput community and was suspended from the party ahead of the MLC poll and contested as an independent after the Saran Teachers constituency went to JD(U) in the seat distribution. He is Ph.D. (H) holder from Ballsbridge University in 2019 and also completed an LL.M. from Bharti Vidyapeeth, Pune in 2014.He was also involved in running schools and colleges, apart from having business ventures. Before being elected, he was the Pramukh (head) of the Revelganj block in Saran district. It is believed that during the election, he had the support of former MP Anand Mohan, who comes from the Rajput community. Mr. Mohan’s son is a JD(U) MLA, while his wife, Lovely Anand, is a Lok Sabha member.On the other hand, the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP)’s delegation met with the Legislative Council Chairman, Ram Bachan Rai, to demand the disqualification of the membership of both independent MLCs. Prashant Kishor’s JSP has bagged one seat out of eight that went to the polls. JSP leader and former MLA Kishor Kumar Munna said, “in less than 72 hours after winning the election, Rahul Raj and Bansidhar Brajwasi joined the BJP.”He further said, “According to the provisions of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, if an independent elected member joins a political party after winning an election, their membership can be terminated. In this regard, a delegation met with the chairman and requested to take cognizance of the entire matter.”Last Saturday (October 31, 2026), the BJP issued a release welcoming the two legislators to the party. Bihar BJP State President Sanjay Saraogi posted the same on his Facebook page, welcoming them, but later edited the post when the matter sparked controversy.RJD also posted a message on social media account X saying the party has already written a letter to the Council’s chairman and the RJD delegation will also meet the Chairman with this regard. Published - November 03, 2026 02:55 am IST