Friyana Munshi
Patna, March 12, 2021: Before merging his party Rashtriya Lok Samata Dal (RLSP) with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party JDU, party president Upendra Kushwaha has suffered a major setback. All the officials of Bihar and Jharkhand including state president Virendra Kushwaha in charge of RLSP have joined the RJD in the presence of Tejashwi Yadav.
In the presence of Leader of Opposition Tejashwi, RJD state president Jagdanand Singh received the party membership of about three dozen leaders of RLSP. On this occasion, Tejashwi said that except for Upendra Kushwaha, the entire party was merged with the RJD. The departure of big party faces in the RJD before the RLSP merged with the JDU is a major setback for Kushwaha.
Apart from this, the Leader of Opposition Tejashwi has demanded the arrest of JDU MLA Dhirendra Singh alias Rinku Singh in the murder case. He is accused of murdering former Champaran district council member Dayanand Verma. Police have registered an FIR against JDU MLA Rinku Singh and his other partner from Valmiki Nagar on the statement of Kumud Verma, wife of Dayanand Verma, deceased in this case.
The merger will take place on March 14
According to news agency ANI, on March 14, RLSP will merge with JDU in Patna, where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar himself may be present on the occasion. A senior RLSP leader informed news agency ANI, “RLSP has arranged a two-day meeting in Patna on 13-14 March to seek approval from party workers on the merger with JDU.” It is believed that after the defeat in Bihar Assembly 2020, Upendra Kushwaha has decided to merge.
Under the leadership of Upendra Kushwaha, the party failed to win a single seat in the 243-member Bihar Assembly. Talking to ANI, Madhav Anand, a close aide of Upendra Kushwaha and RLSP general secretary, said that “Must wait till March 14 post which the decision of the party will be made clear.”
JDU sources are also hopeful that this possible merger will have a major impact on the politics of Bihar. A senior JDU leader stated that the plan for merging the RLSP with the JDU has almost been finalized and is expected to be announced in Patna on 14 March. “We hope that this merger will strengthen the JDU and have a significant impact on the politics of the state.”
After two years, the entry of Kushwaha may be in the NDA,
tell that there are speculations that Upendra Kushwaha may enter the NDA again after about two years. Negotiations between JDU and RLSP are underway in the final stages. It is believed that JDU and RLSP may merge by 15 March.