Kushwaha-Nitish meeting triggers reunion buzz, RLSP chief downplays speculations
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Political circles had indicated that Mr. Kushwaha might merge his Rashtriya Lok Samata Party with the ruling Janata Dal (United),
Amid buzz that former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar might be part of arms once more, following their current meeting right here 4 days in the past, the RLSP chief on Sunday downplayed the speculations as “premature guesswork”.
Mr. Kushwaha stated he had a cordial meeting with Mr. Kumar earlier within the week however denied hammering out a deal for the homecoming. He, nonetheless, didn’t rule out the potential for a reunion in future.
Political circles had indicated that Mr. Kushwaha might merge his Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) with the ruling Janata Dal (United), and he would subsequently be inducted into the State cupboard as a member of the legislative council.
The new NDA authorities, beneath which Mr. Kumar was sworn in on November 16, has 14 Ministers within the cupboard, together with the Chief Minister. As per constitutional provisions, Bihar cupboard can accommodate as much as 36 members. Many ministerial slots, therefore, are nonetheless mendacity vacant.
“It’s a wild speculation…I am not hankering for a ministerial post or a legislative council seat. We had a good meeting… we talked about the latest political situation. Beyond that, any guess has no basis,” Mr. Kushwaha instructed PTI.
The RLSP chief additional stated that Mr. Kumar had invited him to his bungalow “to explore the option of working together”, which he willingly accepted.
Asked about the potential for a reunion, Mr. Kushwaha stated “there is no such plan as of now…but who knows what happens tomorrow.”
Shortly after the meeting, Mr. Kushwaha, whose RLSP fought in alliance with the BSP and the AIMIM within the not too long ago concluded Bihar polls, had launched a scathing assault on RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav for making a “personal attack” on the Chief Minister throughout a short meeting session final month.
JD(U) spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, with out moving into the main points of what transpired within the December 2 meeting, stated, “Kushwaha believes in the same ideology as the ruling party and if he takes a decision to join hands with us, it would be a good one…”
The RLSP may need drawn a clean within the October- November state elections, however caste dynamics in Bihar means that Kushwaha, a comparatively empowered OBC group, might add to Mr. Kumar’s political heft.
After parting methods with Lalu Prasad in 1998, Kumar had solid a robust “Luv-Kush” partnership with Kurmi and Kushwaha castes coming collectively as a potent OBC block in opposition to electorally vital Yadavs.
Mr. Kumar had made Mr. Kushwaha the chief of the opposition in 2004, although he was a first-time MLA, ignoring many legislators who had recommended in any other case.
With time, Mr. Kushwaha turned a insurgent and parted methods with Mr. Kumar to kind his personal occasion.
The RLSP later turned part of the BJP-led NDA earlier than 2014 normal election and Kushwaha was made a member of the Narendra Modi 1.0 authorities.
But, the return of the JD(U) to the NDA fold in July 2017 modified equations as soon as once more, and the RLSP give up the coalition and have become part of the RJD-headed Grand Alliance.
The Mahagathbandhan, nonetheless, suffered extreme drubbing within the 2019 parliamentary polls and Kushwaha misplaced the election from Karakat and Ujiyarpur Lok Sabha seats.
Weeks earlier than the 2020 Bihar meeting elections, he walked out of the Mahagathbandhan and floated a six-party entrance, with Uttar Pradesh chief Mayawati and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi as its distinguished members.
The entrance failed miserably, however AIMIM managed to bag 5 seats within the Muslim-dominated Seemachal area, rising as a brand new power in Bihar politics.
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