Upendra Kushwaha, the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) chief, met Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav in New Delhi on Monday as the issue of seat sharing ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year in Bihar has become contentious among the NDA’s alliance partners.

The meeting between Kushwaha, a Union minister of state as a member of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and former Janata Dal (United) leader Yadav also came amid speculation that the ruling party in Bihar could poach one of his legislators.

“Nitish Kumar ji has been trying to poach MLAs. He has come down to destroying Upendra Kushwaha and his party but he cannot cause any damage to me. He is a part of the NDA and so are we, he should not do such things,” Kushwaha said, according to ANI.

Nitish Kumar ji has been trying to poach MLAs. He has come down to destroying Upendra Kushwaha and his Party but he cannot cause any damage to me. He is a part of the NDA and so are we, he should not do such things: Union Minister and RLSP Chief Upendra Kushwaha in Delhi pic.twitter.com/u9qYmzW6vk

— ANI (@ANI) November 12, 2018

Kushwaha has been meeting leaders of various political parties as the seat sharing issue in the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar has heated up in the wake of the continuing war of words between the alliance partners.

Kushwaha met JD(U)’s Prashant Kishor on Sunday morning after the ruling party’s troubleshooter’s meeting with the chief of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), the BJP’s fourth partner in Bihar, and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan and LJP parliamentary board chairperson Chirag Paswan on Saturday evening.

According to reports, JD(U) has also opened its backchannels through Kishor and Harlakhi MLA Sudhanshu Sekhar of the RLSP had also gone to 7, Circular Road, the official residence of the chief minister, from where Kishor carries out his-day-to-day activities.

If Ranjan shifts to JD(U) camp on certain offer, which could be ministerial berth, it would be a big setback for Kushwaha. However, there was no official confirmation on this.

RLSP has two MLAs in the Bihar assembly. The other legislator Lalan Paswan had been suspended for anti-party activities in August 2016 along with party MP from Jehanabad Arun Kumar. Lalan Paswan is already in the rebel camp.

Chirag Paswan said that Kishore had talks with them, but there was no discussion on seat sharing issue. “The biggest party, the BJP, is doing it and the matter will be resolved amicably at an appropriate time,” he said.

Kushwaha’s party had been demanding a larger seat share in the NDA which he says should be commensurate with the growing base of the RLSP. It has been uneasy relationship ever since the JD(U) returned to the NDA fold in July last year.

Kushwaha, who has opened a front against Kumar by relentlessly attacking him, said that the LJP being an old ally of the NDA would also like the seat-sharing matter to be resolved at the earliest. He had earlier met Paswan on October 30.

“I met Paswanji and we had talks over seat sharing and other issues, including my insult and police lathicharge on Kushwaha demonstration. He is a senior leader and we should keep meeting,” he said, before leaving for Delhi.

“I have told him all about the prevailing situation and how I felt hurt by CM’s statement. I have also apprised him of the need for early resolution of seat sharing,” he said.

Kushwaha reiterated that he would also meet the Bharatiya Janata Party’s president Amit Shah in Delhi to take up his insult by Kumar and take up the seat sharing issue.

Kumar, who is also the JD(U) president, had said, “Itne neeche star tak nahi le jaiye (do not take the debate to such a low level)” when asked to respond to Kushwaha’s remark. Kushwaha had created a furore earlier when he said on October 31 that Nitish Kumar had confided in him that he (Kumar) did not want to continue as chief minister beyond 2020.

Kushwaha, who has kept everyone guessing by keeping all his channels open, picked up the word ‘neech’ from the statement and made it a big issue, which also led to protest by Kushwaha Mahasabha in Patna on Saturday and subsequent baton charge by police, which left several workers injured.

A senior JD(U) leader said that Kushwaha was unnecessarily trying to vitiate the atmosphere without realising that he would land up nowhere with his overtures.

The RLSP has three MPs including Kushwaha in the Lok Sabha. Paswan’s LJP has six. In 2014, with Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) out of the NDA fold, the BJP had contested 30 of Bihar’s 40 Lok Sabha seats, while the RLSP had contested three and the LJP seven. The BJP had won 22, and together the allies took 31 seats.

(With inputs from Arun Kumar in Patna)

First Published: Nov 12, 2018 12:17 IST