Now, Upendra Kushwaha dumps Grand Alliance; says Tejashwi Yadav 'not a patch' on Nitish Kumar

Former Union Minister and president of the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), Upendra Kushwaha, on Tuesday dumped the Grand Alliance (GA), also called the Mahagatbandhan.

Before deserting the RJD-led alliance, Kushwaha came down heavily on Opposition’s Chief Ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav and said he (Lalu’s son) was not a patch on Nitish Kumar and therefore “not competent enough to give Bihar Chief Minister a run for his money.”

Lashing out at the Lalu-Rabri youngest son Tejashwi, Kushwaha, who was junior HRD Minister in the previous Narendra Modi regime, said, “The Mahagatbandhan in general and the RJD, in particular, should change its Chief Ministerial candidate as the leader, who has not even passed his Class Xth, can’t give Bihar a proper education policy nor ensure good governance in the state. ‘Nitish ko takkar dene ke liye Nitish ke takkar ka leader hona chahiye.’ (To give Nitish a tough challenge, one should have a calibre like Nitish).”

DH had recently reported how Grand Alliance was on the verge of collapse and a ‘reshaped’ Mahagatbandhan, with new allies of RJD-Congress like CPI-ML, CPI, CPM, NCP and JMM, will be formalised in a couple of days.

Kushwaha’s exit comes close on the heels of former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi crossing over from Mahagatbandhan to the NDA last month. Kushwaha, too tried his entry into the NDA, but sources said it was Nitish Kumar who slammed the door on his former protege.

Left to fend for himself, Kushwaha has now tied up with Mayawati’s BSP in Bihar.