Updated: Nov 16, 2025, 10:27 pm IST

TMC MP Shatrughan Sinha has lauded Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar following the BJP-led NDA’s landslide victory in the state, praising both the people of Bihar and the parties aligned with Kumar.

Posting on X, Sinha, a former Union minister and actor-turned-politician, described Kumar as a “gentleman politician” and Bihar’s “longest-serving, trusted, tried, tested & successful CM,” adding that he has lived up to people’s expectations. He congratulated all involved, concluding with: “Jai Bihar! Jai Hind!” The post also tagged West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal, and others.

Sinha’s praise came as a surprise within political circles, given his long history of party switches. Elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1996, he served as a Union minister under PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee until 2008. He won the Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket in 2009, joined Congress in 2019, and later won a by-election from Asansol on a TMC ticket in 2022. He was re-elected from the same seat in 2024.

TMC spokesperson Debangshu Bhattacharya told PTI that Sinha’s Bihar roots may have influenced his comments. “However, the party will talk to him to ascertain why he said so. What he said is entirely his personal opinion and not the view of TMC,” Bhattacharya added.

BJP MLA from Asansol South, Agnimitra Paul, interpreted Sinha’s praise as evidence of internal rifts in TMC. “TMC’s move to bring Sinha from outside the state seems to have backfired, as he had failed to deliver as an MP from the seat,” she claimed.

Sinha’s post highlights his personal admiration for Nitish Kumar while prompting questions about TMC’s internal dynamics and its management of MPs from outside West Bengal.

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