Former NDA ally Upendra Kushwaha joins grand alliance in Bihar
Patna, Dec 20 (IBNS): In another setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2019 General Elections, former partner of the saffron party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Rashtriya Lok Samta Partyk (RLSP) on Thursday joined the Bihar grand alliance formed by the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Joining the grand alliance, RLSP leader and ex-union minister Upendra Kushwaha said Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn't fulfill a single promise he made in 2014.
"No promise regarding jobs has been kept (by Narendra Modi). There is a huge difference between promises and reality," Kushwaha said.
The former NDA ally also said the kindness of Congress president Rahul Gandhi and RJD chief Lalu Prasad is one of the reasons behind his decision to join the grand alliance.
In 2015 assembly elections, the grand alliance formed by the Congress, RJD and Nitish's Janata Dal (United) had halted the Modi juggernaut. But the grand alliance didn't last long as Nitish jumped the ship and joined the BJP in 2017.
Lalu's son Tejashwi Yadav, who is now steering the RJD, said the parties have united "to save democracy and give a befitting reply to the BJP-JD(U) alliance".
Taunting the "double-engine" Bihar government, Tejashwi said: "One engine is now crime while the other in corruption."
"People of Bihar are asking for money which Narendra Modi promised in 2015. I am asking Nitish Kumar how much did Modi gave the state. If Nitish can tell, then i will also thank the Prime Minister. Modi gave nothing to the state."
Of late, the BJP's allies are causing a much noise, which is becoming a worry for the ruling saffron party.
Ally Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) has issued a warning to the saffron party over seat-sharing in Bihar.
LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan's son Chirag Paswam said if no deal for the 2019 General Elections is sealed on time, there may be some losses.
Shiv Sena, another ally of the BJP, has already declared it would go solo in the 2019 General Elections.
Earlier in 2017, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu's Telegu Desam Party (TDP) left the NDA over demands of special status for the southern state. After quitting, Naidu rallied with several opposition parties to stitch a united Opposition at the national level.
Moreover, Congress, the principal opposition party, has given a jolt to the BJP by defeating it in three assembly elections just few months prior to the next Lok Sabha elections.
Image: facebook.com/UpendraKushwahaRLSP
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