A message for Bihar: Bharat Ratna for Karpoori Thakur, ministerial berth for son

Janata Dal (United)'s Ram Nath Thakur, the son of Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur, is being inducted into the third Narendra Modi government's ministry. The swearing-in ceremony for the Modi 3.0 ministry is on Sunday.

One of the fresh faces to be included in the Modi ministry, Ram Nath Thakur, considered close to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, is a two-time Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar. He has been a parliamentarian since 2014.

advertisement

"I consider myself lucky that PM Modi and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar showed faith in me. I will work to strengthen their hands," Ram Nath Thakur said, after getting a call from BJP President JP Nadda on Sunday.

"I would not let Modi and Nitish down," added Ram Nath Thakur.

Thakur, among others, was invited to the Prime Minister's residence for a meeting of the potential members of the third Modi ministry on Sunday morning.

Nitish Kumar's JD(U) won 11 out of 16 seats it contested in Bihar. Ram Nath Thakur, who is a Rajya Sabha MP, did not contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

The oath-taking ceremony is to take place at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 7.15 pm on Sunday.

KARPOORI THAKUR DIDN'T PROMOTE HIS SON IN POLITICS

The appointment of the EBC leader from Bihar marks a double honour for the Thakur family, following the posthumous conferment of the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, to Karpoori Thakur earlier this year.

Ramnath Thakur, a seasoned politician, began his political journey in the 1970s when he started assisting his father.

Despite his father's reluctance to promote him in politics, Ramnath ventured into electoral politics after Karpoori Thakur's demise in 1988.

He secured victory as an MLA and later served as minister in Bihar. In the first Nitish Kumar cabinet in 2005, Thakur was assigned the revenue, land reform, law, information and public relations portfolios.

Previously, he was the sugarcane minister in Lalu Yadav's first cabinet too.

Ram Nath Thakur is currently one of the National General Secretaries of the Janata Dal (United).

RAM NATH'S APPOINTMENT, A MESSAGE FOR THE EBC

The appointment of Ramnath Thakur to the Union ministry holds importance for the Extremely Backward Class (EBC) community in Bihar, as many see his inclusion in the cabinet as a strategic move to underscore the importance of Karpoori Thakur's legacy and governance approach, which resonated strongly with the EBC community.

The EBC is a sub-category of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) minus the dominant Yadavs.

Ram Nath Thakur's father and the former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur, who pioneered a quota system for the EBCs, women and the poor in the general category, providing them with a 3 per cent quota each, which later served as a model taken up by Narendra Modi's government.

"Narendra Modi emulated the Karpoori formula by bringing in a 10 per cent quota for the EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) in January 2019," wrote Patna-based Santosh Singh in his book The Jannayak Karpoori Thakur.

The appointment of Thakur in the Modi 3.0 ministry, and conferring Bharat Ratna to Karpoori Thakur, is expected to send a powerful message of representation and empowerment to the community in the eastern state.

Apart from Ram Nath Thakur, BJP's Giriraj Singh, Nityanand Rai, the LJP (RVP)'s Chirag Paswan, the JD(U)'s Lalan Singh and the Hindustani Awami Morcha supremo Jeetan Ram Manjhi, are expected to be a part of the Modi 3.0 cabinet from Bihar.

Published By: Sushim Mukul Published On: Jun 9, 2024