RLSP attacks Nitish and Sushil over 'crime, corruption', blames them for NDA 'tussle'

Reflecting on the state of affairs within the alliance, RLSP said the situation in Bihar NDA is not ideal.

Amid seat-sharing talks in Bihar for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections between partners of the National Democratic Alliance, the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party has trained guns at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushil Modi. 

RLSP National General Secretary Madhaw Anand lashed out at the two leaders holding them responsible for the tussle between alliance partners. "Sushil Modi has surrendered in front of Nitish Kumar and this is the reason why there is a tussle within the NDA," Anand said. 

Reflecting on the state of affairs within the alliance, Anand said that the situation in Bihar NDA is not ideal. "It is definitely a matter of concern and is harming the NDA in some or the other way and the only reason behind this is JDU and CM Nitish Kumar.

He also questioned if Sushil Modi has given Nitish a clean chit in all corruption cases. "Nitish Kumar says that he can not compromise with 3 things - Crime, Communalism and Corruption. If that is the case, tell us what was Muzaffarpur shelter home case, Sitamadhi riots and Srajan scandal? Looks like Sushil Modi has given clean chit in all the cases," he tweeted.

The RLSP chief has been unhappy with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally Janata Dal (United)'s decision to contest an equal number of seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Bihar. The state sends 40 members to Parliament and after the BJP-JD(U) deal, there is speculation that whether this would mean fewer seats for other allies like the RLSP and the Ramvilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (LJP). 

JDU is arguing for 16 seats each for the two parties but the BJP is seeking 17 seats. BJP is claiming that it should be getting 17 seats based upon its performance in the last elections, but the JDU is unwilling to give a bigger share to the BJP. 

If the 16-16 equation is reached upon, the BJP and the JDU will contest on 32 seats out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Out of the remaining 8 seats, Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party is likely to get five seats, Upendra Kushwaha's RLSP may get two seats. One seat is likely to be given to rebel RLSP MP Arun Kumar.