Jubilant over its hundred percent results in the 2014 lok Sabha elections, the Rashtriya lok Samata Party (RlSP), who in alliance with the BJP contested three seats and won all, is in a belligerent mood. The party is unhappy over being allotted only one seat in the 24 seats election to the legislative Council from local bodies and wants more. It has also threatened that it will not join hands with them in the upcoming elections if its demands are not met.
The RlSP is also pressing that its leader and Union Minister of State in HRD, Upendra Kushwaha, be projected as CM face of the NDA. The party leaders have time and again declared that he be declared as the CM candidate as only he could effectively challenge Janata Parivar’s CM face Nitish Kumar. “Kushwaha is most suitable and able candidate and people of Bihar want to see him as CM,” said RlSP MP Arun Kumar. The slogan of “Dilli mein Narendra, Bihar mein Upendra” rented the venue.
Against the demand of four seats in legislative Council polls, the BJP has offered only one seat of Bhagalpur to RlSP igniting protest from the ally. Posing a challenge before the BJP, national general secretary of RlSP Shivraj Singh rebutted that his party would not contest election if not given at least three seats.
“The BJP should honour our party as per its status. If we decide not to contest polls our cadre would not work for the candidates of NDA in 24 seats. Sources said sensing the strict attitude of RlSP, the BJP has decided to consider one more seat, either Muzaffarpur or Ara, but it has turned this offer down too. The party is demanding three seats of its choice. The last date for filing the nomination for these polls is June 18. The RlSP leader Kushwaha, who recently met BJP chief Amit Shah to discuss Bihar Assembly poll preparations, appeared not very satisfied with BJP’s unclear stand over projection of a leader.