Patna: Nishant Kumar, son of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, formally joined the Janata Dal (United) on Sunday. The induction ceremony took place at the party headquarters in Patna. Nishant Kumar stated his intention to work towards strengthening the party's organizational structure, and to carry forward the work initiated by his father.
The event saw the presence of several senior JD(U) leaders, including working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, who formally inducted Nishant into the party. State president Umesh Singh Kushwaha and other prominent figures like Rajeev Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, Bijendra Yadav, Zama Khan, and Vijay Kumar Choudhury were also in attendance. A considerable number of party supporters and workers gathered outside the party office to welcome the new entrant.
Notably, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was absent from the induction ceremony. Nishant Kumar, an engineering graduate reportedly in his 40s, made his first public political statement after joining, vowing to work under his father's guidance and to strengthen the party. His entry into the JD(U) marks his formal foray into public life after years of staying away from it.
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Some reports indicated speculation about Nishant Kumar's potential elevation to the position of Deputy Chief Minister in a future government, should Nitish Kumar step down. These claims, however, emerged from an aide of Nitish Kumar, and were made prior to Nishant's official party membership.
Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar himself recently filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha polls.