Jolt to NDA; Kushwaha resigns as Union minister

RLSP quits NDA after BJP refuses to give it more than 2 seats in Bihar for 2019 LS polls

Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha resigned as the Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development on Monday and his party quit the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The RLSP has decided to quit the NDA following the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) refusal to give it more than two seats in Bihar for the Lok Sabha elections next year.

Kushwaha had asked for 5 seats to contest the elections in Bihar as an NDA partner.

But, the BJP did not accede to his demand.

Moreover, BJP president Amit Shah announced contesting the elections on an equal number of seats with Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal-United (JD-U).

Upset with the BJP’s offer, the RLSP held a two-day ‘Chintan Shivir’ at Valmiki Nagar in Bihar and decided to move out of the NDA fold.

Addressing a public meeting at Motihari on December 6, Kushwaha announced a “war” against the NDA.

The RLSP is likely to join the rainbow alliance of Opposition parties led by Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar.

He is also expected to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi this week.