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Union minister may leave NDA today

December 06, 2018 08:41 IST

RLSP leaders feel insulted after getting no response from the BJP on their demand for a 'respectful seat sharing formula' for the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
M I Khan reports from Patna.

Bharatiya Janata Party ally Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief and Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha is likely to announce leaving the National Democratic Alliance fold today, December 6.

The decision to leave the NDA is believed to have been taken by Kushwaha after a discussion with party leaders at the party's two-day chintan shivir on December 4 and 5.

Kushwaha was authorised on Wednesday, December 5, by his party leaders and workers to take the final decision on whether to continue with the NDA or not.

"I will announce the party decision to continue with the NDA or not on Thursday in Motihari, the district headquarters of East Champaran, a historical place connected with Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha," Kushwaha told journalists on Wednesday evening.

 

According to RLSP sources, most party leaders have spoken against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi and urged Kushwaha to walk out of the NDA.

The party leaders feel insulted and ignored after getting no response from the Bharatiya Janata Party on their demand for a 'respectful seat sharing formula' for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Sensing the anguish of party leaders, Kushwaha said the BJP's national and state leadership are different, not similar.

In Bihar, he said, the BJP has become a B-team of Nitish Kumar's JD-U.

Earlier, the Union minister had given the BJP an ultimatum to ensure by November 30 a 'respectful' seat-sharing formula in Bihar for the Lok Sabha polls.

But Kushwaha's hopes were dashed with Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi leaving for Argentina for the G20 summit, without inviting him for any talks.

BJP national President Amit Anilchandra Shah also did not Kushwaha give time to discuss the matter.

In November, Kushwaha said the RLSP has decided to reject the BJP's offer. He said the party's state executive rejected the BJP's offer, but refused to reveal the number of seats that was offered.

He alleged that the JD-U has been trying to split the RLSP and destroy him politically.

M I Khan in Patna