Upendra Kushwaha miffed with BJP, says seat sharing offer for 2019 'not respectable'

Patna, Nov 17: Upendra Kushwaha, Union Minister and president of NDA ally Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, is miffed over the seats alloted to his party for 2019 elections. Kushwaha said that the BJP's offer of seats to his party for the 2019 general election was "not respectable".

RLSP's Upendra Kushwaha

He did not disclose the number of seats offered to the RLSP, saying he would not speak about it before a seat-sharing agreement is reached by NDA constituents in Bihar by November 30. Kushwaha, the Union minister of state for HRD, was speaking to reporters after the RLSP state executive meeting here.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

The RLSP chief is at loggerheads with Nitish Kumar over the Bihar chief minister's recent remarks against him. Kumar, also the JD(U) president, had refused to join issue with Kushwaha over seat-sharing between NDA partners in Bihar, saying "Itna neeche baat ko nahi le jaiye" (do not take the debate to such a low level).

Kushwaha appears to have picked up the word "neeche" from the statement and took it as an insult to himself as the RLSP chief was the topic of discussion. He alleged that the remark was tantamount to calling him a lowly person.

Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Modi

He has also targeted BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi for defending Kumar, signalling his growing isolation within the coalition. When asked about this, he had said, "I am in the NDA as of now."

BJP president Amit Shah

Kushwaha, whose efforts to meet BJP president Amit Shah over the issue have not yielded results, said he will try to speak to "no other BJP leader except the prime minister." Bihar has a total of 40 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP and the JD(U) have decided to contest equal number of seats. The fourth partner of the NDA in Bihar is Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party.

OneIndia News with PTI inputs