A day before counting of votes for Assembly polls in five States, the NDA received a setback with one of its allies leaving the fold. Upendra Kushwaha, leader of the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), announced his resignation from the Union Council of Ministers and his party’s exit from the NDA. He was Minister of State for Human Resource Development.
In a two-page resignation letter and in a press conference held at his residence in New Delhi, Mr. Kushwaha said that he had been gradually disenchanted with the Narendra Modi government of which he had been a part for four and a half years. He said he felt humiliated by the actions of the BJP which was more keen to cultivate his arch rival – Janata Dal (United) – rather than his own party and was substantially reducing his share of seats in the NDAs kitty for Bihar.
The JD(U) and the BJP are to fight equal number of seats in Bihar for the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP announced recently, with no assurance to Mr. Kushwaha on whether he would be fighting on at least the number of seats he had contested in 2014.
He made special mention of the fact that the Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC) which was supposed to provide an accurate count of caste break up in India and on which the OBC communities were particularly relying in order to get social justice was being suppressed by the government. “The OBC community is upset that this census, which would have proven what their numerical strength is, is being suppressed,” he said.
On future plans, Mr. Kushwaha said that he was yet to decide on whether to join the united opposition grouping being put together across the country, or go solo or even attempt a third front in Bihar. He also said that talk of senior socialist leader Sharad Yadav’s party Loktantrik Janata Dal merging with his own was “premature talk.”
