NDA’s dinner diplomacy show of strength but RLSP chief absent
PATNA: The dinner of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders on Thursday, the first since chief minister Nitish Kumar came back to the BJP fold in July 2017, turned into a show of strength with leaders of all constituent parties participating even as president of Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), Upendra Kushwaha, also a Central minister, skipped the event.
Kushwaha, one of the first to demand discussion on distribution of seats for 2019 Lok Sabha elections, reportedly told Bihar BJP president Nityanand Rai about his inability to attend due to “some urgent work” even as his party was represented by former Union minister Nagmani and other party leaders.
Senior leaders of constituents of the ruling NDA in Bihar — BJP, Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) — were present, sending signal of unity to the opposition. But the much anticipated dinner diplomacy hosted by BJP was confined only to dinner, with no discussion on any issues raised by some parties of the alliance in recent past.
The dinner was keenly watched following JD (U) seeking a prominent role in the Lok Sabha polls, and Nitish raising concern over some Central schemes. Nitish, for the first time after returning to the NDA-fold, had sought special status for Bihar that entitles tax rebates and more money from the Central government.
“Bihar hasn’t got the special package. We are with the NDA for larger interest of the state. BJP has to get more responsible,” JD(U) leader Shyam Rajak said before the dinner while reiterating the party’s stand to contest from no less than 25 Lok Sabha seats. “If NDA wants to be benefit from Nitish’s clean image, it has to do justice to JD(U) and the chief minister’s work,” he said.
Bihar sends 40 MPs to the Lok Sabha and in the 2009 general elections, the JD(U) had contested from 25 seats while the rest had BJP candidates. In 2014, both contested separately, with JD(U) willing only two seats and the BJP getting 22. The LJP and RLSP contested in alliance with the BJP and won six out of seven and three out of three seats they contested, respectively.
Nitish sat along with deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, BJP in-charge Bhupendra Yadav, Union minister and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan, his son Chirag, BJP state president Nityanand Rai, Union minister Ravishankar Prasad, Radha Mohan Singh, Ashwini Chowbey and Ram Kripal Yadav. Nitish left without speaking to the media as other leaders followed suit.
Earlier in the day, NDA sources who did not wish to be named said Kushwaha was miffed over the projection of Nitish as the NDA’s face in Bihar and was unhappy with his growing influence in the NDA. Secondly, the presence of MP Arun Kumar, who leads the dissident faction of the RLSP, has made Kushwaha uncomfortable.