RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha refuses to attend NDA meeting

Putting all the speculations to end, Union Minister of State and Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha on Monday confirmed that he would not attend the meeting of NDA allies.

Talking to the news agency ANI, Upendra Kushwaha said, “I will not participate in the meeting of NDA allies today.” Notably, Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) is likely to break ties with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government over a seat-sharing deal for the 2019 General Elections.

Kushwaha was invited to the NDA allies meet, scheduled for 4 pm today, which will be chaired by PM Modi ahead of the Winter Session of the Parliament. On the other hand, the JDU faction’s presence at the meet is also uncertain.

According to the news agency PTI, the formal announcement of breaking ties with the NDA government will be made today. “Kushwaha is likely to announce his parting of ways with the BJP today. He will also quit as a Union minister,” PTI quoted a senior RLSP leader as saying.

The first signs of a rift between Kushwaha and BJP emerged after party chief Amit Shah, in a joint press conference with JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, in October announced that both parties would contest an equal number of seats in 2019 elections and smaller allies would have to take a cut in their share to accommodate the new partner.

On November 10, the Union minister had demanded that his party be allotted more than three seats in the state by the NDA to contest the 2019 election, given that the RLSP’s strength has grown significantly. Later, Kushwaha asserted that he was in favour of Narendra Modi returning as the prime minister in 2019, but will not tolerate any insult against the party.

The RLSP chief had sought the prime minister’s intervention to resolve the seat-sharing issue in Bihar NDA. Interestingly, the RLSP, as an ally of the BJP in the NDA, had won three seats in the 2014 general election.

Also Read: Upendra Kushwaha set to decide whether his party RLSP will leave NDA today