Party hopping in Bihar: Nagmani does it again, a record 12th time!

According to former Union Minister Nagmani's wikipedia profile, he has changed political parties a record eleven times. He did it once again on Saturday by rejoining the JD(U) to complete the dozen count. You need a computer to track the ever changing political affiliation of former Union Minister Nagmani, says Congress leader Prof Arun Kumar Prasad.

Nagmani, it may be recalled, was baptized into politics in the Shoshit Samaj Dal floated by his father and former deputy CM the late Jagdeo Prasad. He took the first try in political jumping by joining the Congress. Not only did Nagmani join Congress, he also adopted his father's bete noire, the late Ramashray Prasad Singh as his (Nagmani's) mentor in the Congress politics.

From then onwards Nagmani has never looked back. Nagmani's political itinerary reads like this; SSD-Congress-JD-RJD-BJP-LJP-JD(U)-RJD-Congress-NCP-RLSP-JD(U). There is no mainstream party in Bihar which at one point or the other has not played host to the party hopper. He has twice been in the RJD and Congress. This is his second innings in JD(U) as well.

While in RJD, Nagmani, the then MP from Chatra engineered defection in the RJD parliamentary party and joined the BJP. The saffron party rewarded him with a ministerial berth in the Vajpayee-led NDA government.

When NDA lost power at the Centre in 2004, Nagmani made a halt in the LJP before joining the JD (U). The JD (U), particularly, chief minister Nitish Kumar was very benevolent to the party hopper, then regarded as a big catch by the JD(U). Nagmani's wife Suchitra Sinha was given the party symbol to contest the Kurtha seat of Arwal district. After being elected as MLA from Kurtha, Nagmani's wife was made a minister in the Nitish Kumar-led government. Nagmani too was made an MLC.

Asked about the new entrant, JD(U) national General Secretary Afaque Ahmad Khan said that the party’s door was open for everybody who believed in the idea of development with justice and for that reason, his entry has to be welcomed.

On the point whether any promises have been made to the new recruit for his rehabilitation in the corridors of power, Khan said that his party did not believe in political poaching and there was no scope for any pre conditions. People are given positions as per their suitability for different positions, said the General Secretary. Khan refused to comment on the perceived erosion in Nagmani’s credibility on account of his frequent somersaults in politics.