Upendra Kushwaha appointed chairman of National Parliamentary Board of JD (U)

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday announced the appointment of Upendra Kushwaha as chairman of the National Parliamentary Board of Janata Dal-United soon after the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) merged with the JDU.

Speaking at JD(U) Office, Kumar said, "Upendra Kushwaha has been appointed as chairman of the National Parliamentary Board of JD(U), with immediate effect."

The JD(U) leader further said, "We were in talks with RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha for quite some time. When I discussed it with my party members, they expressed their joy on his thought of merging the party with ours.

"Earlier in the day, Kushwaha said that the party has decided to merge with JD (U), stating that it is the demand of the current political situation.

"In the interest of the nation and state, like-minded people in Bihar should come together. It`s the demand of the current political situation. So, Rashtriya Lok Samta Party has decided to merge with JD(U), under Nitish Kumar`s leadership. We stand with them now," said Kushwaha.

Taking at the jibe the RLSP merging with JD (U), senior RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari said Kumar should handover the chief minister`s position to Kushwaha.

"The way BJP insulted Nitish Kumar in Bihar assembly elections using Chirag Paswan, it was obvious that it somewhere niggled Nitish Kumar as well as Upendra Khushwaha. However, it is time that "Luv" should handover the CM position to his brother Kush as `Luv-Kush` was the base of the JD(U)`s formation, said Tiwari.

Kushwaha was a JD(U) Rajya Sabha member till 2013, but he parted his ways in 2013 and floated his own outfit. 

In the Bihar assembly election 2020, the RLSP stitched a coalition with Asaduddin Owaisi`s AIMIM and Mayawati`s Bahujan Samaj Party. However, the RLSP could not win even a single seat.