The Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, led by Upendra Kushwaha, was on Saturday headed for a split, with all of its three legislators, two MLAs and one MLC, declaring that “they would approach the Election Commission if Mr. Kushwaha decided to break away from the BJP-led NDA.”
On December 10, Mr. Kushwaha resigned from the Union Cabinet and parted ways with the NDA.
The MLAs, Sudhanshu Shekhar and Lallan Paswan, and MLC Sanjiv Singh Shyam accused Mr. Kushwaha of “ditching the NDA to fulfil his own personal agenda and interests.” “We’ll approach the Election Commission to prove that we represent the real RLSP and enjoy the support of most party workers and office-bearers if Mr. Kushwaha breaks away from the NDA”, they said in a joint statement in Patna.
Mr. Shyam alleged that though Mr. Kushwaha had earlier assured the RLSP MLAs of berths in the Bihar Cabinet after JD(U) president and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar decided to rejoin the NDA, he had never made a serious attempt. “When the ministerial berths were being distributed among the allies, Mr. Kushwaha was roaming here and there… He was only interested in securing a position for himself at the Centre,” he said. However, they refused to call their move a defection. “Rather, we represent the real RLSP as our move is in line with the sentiments of most party workers and office-bearers.”
Earlier, Mr. Shekhar and Mr. Paswan met JD(U) leader and poll strategist Prashant Kishor in Patna and they were offered ministerial berths, sources said.
Mr. Kushwaha founded the RLSP on March 3, 2013, after parting ways with Mr. Nitish Kumar.
The RLSP, which fought the 2014 general election and the 2015 Assembly election as an NDA constituent, has three MPs, including Mr. Kushwaha. Arun Kumar, the party MP from Jehanabad, has been charting an independent course for the past two years. The other MP, Ram Kumar Sharma from Sitamarhi, initially made statements in favour of the NDA and Mr. Nitish Kumar, but changed his stance later and was seen with Mr. Kushwaha when he announced his resignation from the Union Cabinet.
(With inputs from PTI)