Rashtriya Lok Samata Party president and Union minister Upendra Kushwaha on Saturday gave his ally, Bharatiya Janata Party, time till November 30 to announce a “respectable seat-sharing” arrangement in Bihar for the Lok Sabha elections, The Indian Express reported.
After the party’s state executive meeting in Patna, Kushwaha warned that the National Democratic Alliance led by Narendra Modi will have to pay a “heavy price” if the impasse over the seat-sharing continues. He said the BJP’s offer of seats was “not respectable” but did not disclose the number of seats, NDTV reported.
The Union minister said he would not meet any BJP leader, except Modi on the seat-sharing arrangement. “I will not make any move on my part to discuss seat sharing,” he said. “Now, the BJP will have to make a move for seat sharing with the RLSP.”
He also attacked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, claiming that he is resorting to “nasty tricks”. “There was a group of NDA leaders in Bihar who doesn’t like to see Narendra Modi as PM again,” he claimed, according to The Hindu.
Kushwaha said the law and order situation in the state had worsened”. “Everyday murders, kidnappings and rape incidents are taking place in the state…several of my party leaders too have been killed but it seems there is no one to take notice of it”, he said.
There has been speculation over Kushwaha breaking away from the NDA over his differences with Kumar regarding the proposed seat-sharing arrangements after he met Opposition leader Sharad Yadav on November 12. Kushwaha also accused Kumar of attempting to poach his MLAs.
He had also demanded that his party be allotted more than three seats in Bihar by the National Democratic Alliance to contest the Lok Sabha elections.
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