The 4 MLAs who helped Nitish Kumar keep calm and carry on

Nitish Kumar’s fate today might swing on six independents. Four of them have extended their support, and two are undecided. Here we give you the low-down on who the decision-makers might be today. Pawan Kumar Jaiswal: Jaiswal is an MLA from Dhaka in Sheonar. Jaiswal has recently pledged his support to the JD(U) unconditionally. He participated in the JD(U) meet on Monday, where Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav were present. He was the first independent MLA to declare support for Kumar and expects to be sworn in as a minister along with other independents siding with the JD (U). Jaiswal comes from a family of farmers according to a report in The Indian Express. The report also says that he began in local politics and became chairman of the Motihari district board before being elected MLA for the first time in 2010. [caption id=“attachment_886827” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  PTI image[/caption] Som Prakash Singh: In September 2012, Singh, who had won the 2010 state assembly election as an independent from Okra constituency in Aurangabad district, said he wanted to quit politics because of an MLA’s ability to prosecute corruption. The former sub-inspector didn’t end up quitting politics, and he’s become known for his anti-corruption stance. He’s directed his constituency to take a strong stance against bribery, and he won over the public (reported in the same Indian Express report) by arrested a bus driver who was said to be politically-connected for rash driving. Singh is also willing to support the JD(U). He initially said that he would speak to his supporters, and later said he was in favour of the government finishing its five-year term. Vinay Bihari: In the November 2010 state assembly elections, Vinay Bihari won the 5 Lauria assembly seat defeating his nearest rival Pradeep Singh of JDU. Bihari had lost two elections before winning the third time despite an NDA sweep elsewhere. He owes his popularity largely to being a Bhojpuri singer and lyricist. He has said that he is willing to support the JD(U), and has said in the Indian Express article that he aims to get Bhojpuri included in the Eighth Schedule. JD(U) spokesperson Sanjay Singh said a week ago that Bihari was one of the two independents who had extended their support to the party. Dulal Chandra Goswami: It was Goswami’s house that Nitish Kumar landed up at this week when he took a personal initiative to make sure that he would have the independent’s vote. The Balrampur MLA was overwhelmed by Kumar’s visit, according to a report in India Today. “The chief minister and his entourage stayed for about 20-25 minutes at my house to have tea,” he said. Goswami had been with the BJP until the last assembly elections until he was denied a ticket. He, like Bihari, has extended unconditional support to the JD(U), saying that he wishes to see the government complete a full term. Jyoti Rashmi and Dilip Verma: Rashmi is undecided and Verma has openly said that he will decline to back the party because of the Narendra Modi factor. He has also alleged, according to the Indian Express copy, that the JD(U) offered him a ministerial berth and a ticket in the next Lok Sabha polls if he agreed to extend his support. Besides this, he also alleged that the party was trying to engineer defection in the RJD. On the other hand, Rashmi, who was recently involved in a face-off with the government over not getting an invitation to a function in Dehri, has not said whether she will support the government or not.