Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Saturday, 13 June 2026, extended congratulations to Upendra Kushwaha on being re-elected as the national president of Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), signalling continued warmth between the BJP and its NDA ally ahead of the next assembly cycle.

Context

Choudhary posted on X in Hindi: 'Sri Upendra Kushwaha ji ko punah Rashtriya Lok Morcha ke mananiya Rashtriya Adhyaksh nirvachit hone par anant badhai evam shubhkamnaen' — ('Heartiest congratulations and best wishes to Sri Upendra Kushwaha ji on being re-elected as the honourable National President of Rashtriya Lok Morcha'). The message was directed at Kushwaha's official handle @UpendraKushRLM.

Kushwaha is a prominent Kushwaha (Koeri) OBC community leader from Bihar who has served as a Lok Sabha MP and held central ministerial positions. His party, RLM, contests elections as part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar.

Policy Backdrop

Kushwaha founded what was then known as the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party in 2013 after parting ways with JD(U), later rebranding and realigning with the NDA fold. In the 2020 Bihar assembly elections, his party contested as part of the NDA's seat-sharing arrangement alongside BJP and JD(U).

Bihar's electoral arithmetic is defined by caste consolidation, particularly among Other Backward Classes (OBC). Smaller parties such as RLM serve as crucial vote-aggregators for the NDA, making their internal stability a matter of alliance-wide interest.

Stakeholders and Impact

Kushwaha's re-election as RLM president signals organisational continuity within the party, which matters to the Kushwaha community voters concentrated in several central and north Bihar districts. For the NDA, a stable RLM under a single recognised leader simplifies seat-sharing negotiations.

CM Choudhary's public congratulation from the BJP's highest office in Bihar underlines that the alliance relationship remains intact. Such gestures are a routine but deliberate part of coalition maintenance in a state where no single party commands an outright majority on its own.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to formal seat-sharing discussions within the NDA ahead of the next Bihar assembly elections. RLM's share of constituencies and its role in candidate selection will be key indicators of how much leverage Kushwaha's renewed mandate translates into within the alliance. Any public statement from Kushwaha on his priorities as re-elected president will be closely watched by coalition partners and political observers alike.