Nitish to join rare ‘four Houses’ club with RS entry

Patna: With his election to the Rajya Sabha on Monday, JD(U) president and CM Nitish Kumar is set to join an elite group of Bihar leaders who have served as members of all four legislative houses—the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Bihar legislative assembly (Vidhan Sabha) and Bihar legislative council (Vidhan Parishad).Nitish will formally enter the club after taking oath as a Rajya Sabha member after April 9. Having earlier served in the Vidhan Sabha, Vidhan Parishad and the Lok Sabha, his Rajya Sabha entry completes the rare “full set” of legislative experience.After his rival Lalu, Nitish will become the second Bihar CM to have served in all four legislative houses. Besides Lalu, other Bihar leaders who have achieved this distinction include former deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, former Union minister Nagmani, Rashtriya Lok Morcha president Upendra Kushwaha, and the state’s agriculture minister Ram Kripal Yadav.

According to legislative records, Lalu Prasad was first elected to the Lok Sabha from Chhapra in 1977 and went on to serve multiple terms. He entered the Rajya Sabha in 2002. Lalu was elected to the Bihar assembly from Sonpur in 1980 and served several terms in the Vidhan Sabha. He was also a member of the Bihar Legislative Council from 1990 to 1995 while serving as chief minister.Sushil Kumar Modi represented Bhagalpur in the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2005. He was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha in Dec 2020 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Ram Vilas Paswan. Modi represented Patna Central in the Bihar Assembly for three consecutive terms (1990, 1995 and 2000) and was a member of the Bihar Legislative Council from 2006 to 2020.