Patna,(BiharTimes): Now it is the turn of Rashtriya Lok Samata Party to stake claim over the chief ministerial post in Bihar.
Party’s president and Union minister of state for rural development Upendra Kushwaha said on Sunday that he is the best suited person to lead the NDA to victory in the next Assembly election due in 2015.
Talking to the Hindustan Times he said if the BJP can project Janata Dal(United) leader Nitish Kumar as the chief ministerial candidate in 2000 and in both the Assembly elections of 2005 even though it was a smaller party then why can not Upendra Kushwaha be named this time as the alliance has a better chance of winning the election.
However, the state BJP chief Mangal Pandey rejected the RSLP leader’s claim stating that BJP would head the government if the alliance wins the election.
So after Shiv Sena and Haryana Janhit Congress the BJP is facing another challenge from an alliance partner. The HJC in fact left the NDA within 100 days of the formation of the Narendra Modi government.
Incidentally, when Kushwaha came to Bihar for the first time after becoming Union minister his supporters shouted slogans projecting him as the future CM of the state even though RLSP is a small party with just three MPs in the Lok Sabha. It has no member in the state Assembly.
However, another alliance partner, the Lok Janshakti Party, has opposed RLSP chief’s candidature. Party’s state unit chief Pashupati Kumar Paras, who is the younger brother of Union minister of Food Ram Vilas Paswan said that any decision would be taken after consultation among the leaders of the three constituents of the NDA.
LJP has six MPs and no member in the state Assembly.