In view of seat sharing of NDA in Bihar elections, Upendra Kushwaha’s statement ‘All is not well in NDA’ late night on Tuesday (14 October) created a stir in the politics of Bihar. Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Kushwaha is said to be angry over the seat distribution within the NDA. Dissatisfied with the Mahua assembly seat going to Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), senior BJP leaders reached Kushwaha’s house late in the night to pacify him, but all efforts failed.

According to sources, late on Tuesday night, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, Minister Nitin Naveen and BJP leader Rituraj Sinha reached the residence of Upendra Kushwaha. The meeting lasted for about four hours and political churning continued till about 4 o’clock in the night. Even after the meeting no concrete result could be achieved. The leaders refused to come out and say anything to the media. There is talk that Upendra Kushwaha will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi today.

Kushwaha called an emergency meeting today

After the overnight turmoil, Upendra Kushwaha has now called an emergency meeting of his party at 12:30 pm on Wednesday. The further strategy of RLM will be decided in the meeting. It is believed that after this meeting, Kushwaha can make a big political announcement by holding a press conference. This is likely to further increase the tussle within the NDA.

Kushwaha will meet Amit Shah today

Amidst the ongoing resentment within the NDA in Bihar, Upendra Kushwaha will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi today. It is believed that the dispute arising between the two leaders regarding seat sharing will be discussed in detail. Kushwaha will go to Delhi in the hope of solution.

Resentment started due to seat distribution

In fact, on Sunday, NDA had announced the seat sharing formula for Bihar assembly elections. Under this, BJP and JDU were given 101-101 seats, Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas) was given 29 seats, while Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM were given 6-6 seats. Kushwaha had demanded 24 seats from the beginning and Manjhi had claimed 15 seats. Both the leaders had openly expressed their displeasure over the distribution of seats.

Emotional message on social media

Immediately after the seat distribution, Kushwaha had apologized to his supporters on social media and wrote – “I am sorry to all of you. The number of seats could not be as per your wish, food would not have been cooked in many houses today. But there are some circumstances which are not visible.”

Now when Kushwaha is openly saying that “all is not well in NDA”, this statement has become a big sign of dissatisfaction and instability within NDA before Bihar elections.

Before the Bihar assembly elections, Chirag Paswan has once again warned the ruling BJP-JDU alliance of Bihar. Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) President and Union Minister Chirag Paswan revealed his political intentions and his position in the alliance. He made it clear that he has the power to affect 20 to 25 thousand votes in every assembly constituency.

Demand for big seats
In a conversation with NDTV, Chirag Paswan made it clear that he needed large part seats in Bihar. He said, ‘I want quality seats and I will fight a tough fight for this.’ Paswan told that he needed about 40 seats, but he did not publicly explain this number. Also, he told that the formal conversation of seat sharing with the BJP-JDU alliance has not started yet. He further said- ‘I am like salt on vegetables … I can affect 20,000 to 25,000 votes in every constituency.’

What did Chirag say on rumors of becoming Chief Minister?
Chirag Paswan also said that his supporters want to see him the next Chief Minister of Bihar. He told, ‘My supporters’ dreams are big, what is wrong with this?’ But at the same time it was also clarified that at the moment he is not claiming any claim to become the Chief Minister.

Option to separate from alliance
Chirag Paswan clearly said that if he felt uncomfortable in the alliance or he became more ambitious, then he will always have the option to separate from the alliance. He also said that he is not a part of the government in Bihar, but is only with the BJP-NDA at the center.

BJP challenge
BJP has currently offered 25 seats to Chirag Paswan. But Paswan’s demand is high, due to which the BJP can be in trouble. If Paswan has no agreement, the BJP will have to face lack of votes, while allies like JDU may be angry at giving more concession.

Flutter with JDU
Chirag Paswan criticized senior JDU leader Nitish Kumar’s government for law and order. He said, ‘This is my way to give feedback to my own government.’ At the same time, he did not even silence on the remarks of former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and told that it is only an attempt to bring himself into a position before the election.