What happened to 56-inch chest? Kushwaha mocks BJP over Bihar seat sharing

Patna, Dec 23: Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RSLP) leader Upendra Kushwaha took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying those having '56-inch chest' had to bow down to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and share an equal number of seats with the Janata Dal-United (JDU).

"The BJP always used to say they have a 56-inch chest, but now it seems they've bowed down in front of Nitish Kumar and divided seats equally. But people do not care about how many seats you contest on, they will vote for the one who works for the public," Kushwaha said.

Taking a dig at LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan, Kushwaha said the Union minister realised that the NDA would not be getting any Lok Sabha seat so he secured a Rajya Sabha seat. Its a good thing that he has done, the RLSP chief said.

Kushwaha recently quit the NDA and joined the Congress's Mahagathbandhan in Delhi. Explaining his rationale for joining the Grand Alliance, Kushwaha said the Modi government failed to fulfil the promises made to the people of Bihar, besides the "insult" he suffered within the NDA. Kushwaha lauded Rahul Gandhi and Lalu Prasad for the "wholeheartedness" shown by them towards him.

In a joint press conference, leaders of the NDA announced the seat-sharing arrangement by which the BJP and JDU will contest on 17 seats each while the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) will fight on 6 seats.

The announcement was made by BJP president Amit Shah, JDU chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan together. The BJP and the JDU also agreed to give a Rajya Sabha seat to LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan.