Bihar Elections: Major Jolt To Grand Alliance As Kushwaha's RLSP Pulls Out Ahead Of Polls, Joins Hands With BSP

RLSP chief and former Union Minister of State, Upendra Kushwana has announced that the party will fight elections with Bahujan Samaj Party and Janwadi Party Socialist.

Bihar Elections: In a major jolt to the Grand Alliance in Bihar, right ahead of the crucial assembly polls, its key partner the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) on Tuesday snapped its ties with the opposition coalition. RLSP chief and former Union Minister of State, Upendra Kushwana has announced that the party will fight elections with Bahujan Samaj Party and Janwadi Party Socialist. The development comes after reports of rift in the opposition coalition, as RLSP’s national secretary-general Madhav Anand had hinted that all was not well in the party. Earlier, there were speculations that Kushwaha may join hands with Nitish Kumar-led NDA but on Monday  he refuted these reports and said he has had no conversation with CM Nitish Kumar. This comes as a second shocker for the Mahagathbandhan , as Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) has already shifted from the Grand alliance to the NDA. Manjhi is also keeping his cards close to his chest. This comes days after RLSP national principal secretary-general Madhav Anand had hinted that all is not well in the 'Mahagathbandhan'. Within NDA too the leaders are feeling the anti-incumbency factor after 15 years. Hence they want to accumulate as many political parties as they can in their camp. The ruling coalition is making efforts to keep the LJP intact in the NDA despite Chirag Paswan turning into a big critic of CM Nitish Kumar.