A ‘Gift’ Worth of Crores: When Nishant Kumar, Son of Ex-Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Received a Lavish Penthouse Apartment As A ‘Gift’ From Lalan Singh, Months Before Bihar Lok Sabha 2024 Elections

Key Points

Popularly touted as sushashan babu— meaning “a man of good governance” — Bihar’s former chief minister Nitish Kumar has maintained a squeaky clean image as a politician who stays clear of engaging in dubious and corrupting political practices. This same reputation extends onto his relatives as well. However, an erstwhile investigation had pulled off the veil on this image, revealing that Nitish’s son Nishant Kumar received a lavish house as an alleged ‘gift’ from Janata Dal (United) (JDU) senior member and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan ‘Lalan’ Singh.

The opulence residence in question is situated at the the top of the Shiv Radhika complex, called the ‘penthouse,’ and is located near Bailey road, one of Bihar’s poshest and upscale areas.

Back in 2024, when the state of Bihar was bracing itself for the oncoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Lalan Singh, as a supposed token of his “love and affection” for his party supremo’s son Nishant, endowed him the apartment.

The official registry of the gift deed of the house dates back to January 15, 2024, three months prior to the state’s lok sabha elections. It was also at the same time that Lalan Singh was the Lok Sabha MP from Bihar's Munger constituency. 

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Upon winning in the 2024 elections, under the JD(U)’s quota in Narendra Modi’s government, Lalan was recruited in the prime minister’s cabinet as the Union Cabinet Minister of Panchayati Raj and Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

As per the gift deed, it is asserted that Lalan possessed “extreme love and affection” for Nishant Kumar since his childhood. “Pleased with Nishant’s attitude” towards him, Rajiv Ranjan Singh decided to endow him with this property.

Before the 2024 Bihar legislative elections, Nitish Kumar, in his affidavit, had declared a total assets amounting to Rs 16,482,719. This includes Rs 1.48 crore listed as immovable property, and Rs 16.82 lakh of movable property. The affidavit reveals that his annual income for the fiscal year 2022-23 was Rs 492,810.

While the gift deed enclosed that the monetary value of the gifted property stands at around 91 lakhs, builders and developers say that the actual monetary value of this 2,160-square-foot super-built-up residence property could be around 1.7 crores. The document further stated that Lalan Singh, who was the owner of the penthouse, endowed the property to Nishant without any monetary transactions.

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In addition to the house, Nishant was also granted exclusive access to the building rooftop, 800-square-foot open terrace, two designated car parking spaces, and a 50-square-foot servant room located on the ground floor. A proportionate share of the land upon which the complex is built is also in Nishant’s name. The complex is built on 13,610 square feet, out of which Nishant’s share stands at 700 square feet additionally. 

The Shiv Radhika complex also houses Bihar’s high-ranking bureaucrats, while the posh neighbourhood is home to many politicians and MLAs. 

The timing of the alleged ‘gift,’ in addition to its monetary values, had raised doubts over Nitish Kumar’s ‘honest politician’ persona. Neither Nitish nor Lalan had made any comments about the alleged gift. 

Lalan and Nitish have been linked together since the JP movement in Bihar in 1975. Lalan had lent his support to Nitish ever since the earlier days of the Janata Dal (United). 

Being the only child of the former Bihar CM, Nishant has mostly shied away from his father’s political shadow, up until recently. A software engineer by education, Nishant made his descent into the political scenario after his father Nitish Kumar stepped down as Bihar’s Chief Minister, in a move contrasting to the JDU’s anti-dynasticism policy. Nishant was appointed Bihar’s Minister of Health Minister in May 2026. 

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