INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Upendra Kushwaha game an ultimatum to the BJP on November 17
Union minister and RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha on Saturday fired a fresh salvo at the BJP leadership, saying a person who heads towards doom
loses his reasoning.Mr Kushwaha claimed he was not given an appointment by BJP chief Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi
manush par chhatha hain, pahle vivek maar jatha hain" (as a person heads towards doom he loses his reasoning).He was talking to reporters in
Motihari, headquarter of East Champaran district, where he is expected to make a big announcement at a public meeting on December 6
(Amit) nor Modi (Narendra) gave me an appointment.They may have had other preoccupations
But there are other modes of communication
There could have been at least a phone call
The situation reminds me of Dinkar's line," he said before reciting the stanza from the epic Rashmirathi.After serving an ultimatum to the
BJP on November 17 to formalise seats among NDA partners in Bihar for the next year general election by November 30, Mr Kushwaha, whose
efforts to meet BJP president Amit Shah did not materialise, had said that he would meet only the Prime Minister on the issue.Ever since the
announcement by the BJP president that his party and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) will contest equal number of seats out of the total
40 Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar, Mr Kushwaha has been publicly showing his unhappiness.He had said that the BJP had offered RLSP two
seats which his party rejected and sought a "respectable" number instead.Mr Kushwaha's party had won all the three seats it had contested in
2014 in Bihar with the BJP
But, with the return of Nitish Kumar's JD(U) in the coalition, the equation changed.Mr Kushwaha came into political prominence after Nitish
Kumar backed him as the leader of opposition in Bihar assembly in 2004 despite the fact that it was his first outing as an MLA, but later
fell out with the JD(U) chief and floated RLSP.Mr Kushwaha aligned with the BJP in the last Parliamentary election, while the JD(U) was part
of the grand alliance with Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress.His remarks have further fuelled speculation that he may quit
the NDA in favour of 'mahagathbandhan' comprising RJD, Congress and HAM of former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi.The Congress, which is the
second largest constituent of the opposition Grand Alliance, urged Mr Kushwaha to make haste and come out of the NDA."It is now amply clear
that the BJP is going to give short shrift to Kushwaha
On the other hand, the Mahagathbandhan has been waiting with open arms
The RLSP chief must not drag his feet now," Congress MLC Prem Chandra Mishra said.He also claimed there will be a "stampede-like" situation
within the NDA once the results of assembly polls in five states are out on December 11 and it "becomes clear that the BJP is a sinking
ship".BJP MLA and Bihari unit vice-president Mithilesh Tiwari, however, asserted that Mr Kushwaha is not going to quit the NDA."Setting up
frequent deadlines and extending the same say a lot about his inclination
I cannot comment on his grievances
But we do have just one complaint against Kushwaha
He keeps airing his grievances before the media, though he has no need to do so
He is a member of the Union Council of Ministers
He is bound to have meetings with the Prime Minister where he can express his concerns," Mr Tiwari added.Meanwhile, divergent opinions
emerged from within the five-year-old party of Mr Kushwaha"I met Sharad Yadav, the Loktantrik Janata Dal with whom our party has ideological
Kushwaha said Upendra Kushwaha got a ministerial berth despite having just three MPs
"He should not go on alleging disrespect within the NDA
Would it be proper for a leader of his seniority to accept the supremacy of Tejashwi Yadav (RJD leader)," he said.
