Kushwaha’s seat-share ultimatum to BJP
PATNA: Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha on Saturday served an ultimatum to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership to resolve the seat sharing issue in Lok Sabha elections in Bihar by November 30, following which his party would take a call on its future course of action.
Kushwaha, who attended a state executive meeting of the RLSP, said the party had decided to reject the seat offer made by BJP state in-charge Bhupendra Yadav, calling the number “less than honourable”.
The meeting on Saturday was significant given he fact that Kushwaha had returned from New Delhi after unsuccessful attempt to meet BJP national president Amit Shah on Friday.
Two of his party legislators, Lallan Paswan and Sudhashu Shekhar, were conspicuous by their absence at the meeting, setting off speculation that the two were determined to stay with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) by seeking recognition as a separate entity in the state assembly.
On the absence of the two MLAs, Kushwaha said the RLSP was intact and accused his bete noire, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, of fomenting dissent to break the party. “I am still in NDA and such attempts to disintegrate an alliance partner are highly objectionable and don’t augur well for democracy.”
The RLSP chief said he made several attempts to meet BJP president Shah, but the latter might have been preoccupied. “Now, I am not going to make any effort to meet BJP top leaders except the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in whose cabinet I am a minister,” he said.
RLSP state executive passed a resolution condemning Kumar’s ‘Neech” jibe at Kushwaha and sought an apology from Janata Dal (United) strongman.
Meanwhile, the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)’s state spokesperson Bhai Birendra once again extended an invitation to Kushwaha to join its alliance with the Congress in Bihar, promising a respectable share.
BJP state vice president Devesh Kumar, meanwhile, said, “The issue of seat sharing will be sorted out amicably among all NDA constituents.”