RLSP upset with seat-sharing, shows cracks within Grand Alliance in Bihar

Patna, Sep 23 : Even as most political parties are busy tweaking their campaign plans for this year’s assembly polls in Bihar, cracks within the Grand Alliance led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) over seat-sharing are coming to the surface.

The Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), part of the Grand Alliance, is reportedly upset over seat distribution and has called a meeting of its members to discuss the issue on Thursday.

RLSP sources say that the RJD wants to give 10 or less seats to the party, whereas the party leadership is seeking as many as 35 seats.

RLSP chief and former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha has already met RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav in this regard.

Meanwhile, party general secretary Anand Madhav says it is a matter of concern that the biggest members of the alliance – the Congress and the RJD – are yet to arrive at an understanding over seat-sharing. This is sending out the wrong signal to the voters.

“We will discuss all these circumstances at the party’s national and state executive on Thursday. Our future course of action will be decided in the meeting.”

One must mention that the Hindustani Awam Morcha has already broken away from the Grand Alliance and gone into the NDA fold. The RLSP had joined the Grand Alliance ahead of the last Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

–IANS
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