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‘We’ve invited him’: Tejashwi on Kushwaha joining mahagathbandhan today
Ahead of Kushwaha’s press conference on Thursday, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav hinted at his entry into the UPA-led alliance and said that everything will be clear by evening.
Hours before Bihar politician Upendra Kushwaha is expected to announce his next political move, the state’s former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav handed out clues on what that could be. He said the mahagathbandan or “grand alliance,” has invited Kushwaha to sign up with them after he exit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance last week.
“Things will be clear by evening, you’ll get to know. Have invited people in past too. If Upendra Kushwaha ji wants good for country, we’ve invited him. There have been attempts to crush regional parties, even LJP isn’t happy with Modi ji’s faction and that proves the fact,” Tejashwi said, also referring to Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) which is a partner of the BJP in Bihar along with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United.
The rival camp, the mahagathbandhan, is made up of the Congress, some regional allies and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, headed by Lalu Yadav, father of Tejashwi Yadav. It included Nitish Kumar till last year, when he returned to the NDA.
Nitish Kumar’s re-induction into the NDA was a trigger point for Upendra Kushwaha’s deep distress, which he made no bones about in the months leading up to his quitting the alliance; he made multiple attacks on the chief minister and fought over seat sharing for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Kushwaha, who heads the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) has said he will address a press conference this evening. At the last such presser, he had announced his divorce from the NDA, accusing the BJP of pushing the agenda of the BJP’s ideological mentor, RSS, in universities and elsewhere.
Kushwaha has been upset with the BJP after it asserted that the RLSP would not be given more than two seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, even as it went out of way to accommodate Kumar by agreeing that the saffron party and the JD(U) would fight equal number of seats.
Since then, Kushwaha has reportedly been in talks with the Congress. A senior RLSP leader said talks between his party and the UPA constituents are at a final stage and that Kushwaha is likely to make an announcement this evening.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi and a Congress representative are likely to be present during the announcement. Opposition leader Sharad Yadav may also attend the event, PTI reported.
