All not well in Grand Alliance, says RLSP; Kushwaha hints at possible exit

All is not well in the Grand Alliance in poll-bound Bihar, its key constituent Rashtriya Lok Samata Party asserted and dropped ample hints that a possibility of exit from the opposition coalition

All is not well in the Grand Alliance

in poll-bound Bihar, its key constituent Rashtriya Lok Samata Party asserted on Wednesday and dropped ample hints that a possibility of exit from the opposition coalition and return to the ruling NDA could not be ruled out.

RLSP national principal secretary general Madhaw Anand disclosed in that the party is all set to go in a huddle to explore the possibilities ahead of the assembly polls expected in October-November.

"Tomorrow, we have convened a meeting which will be attended by all members of our national and state executive. All is not well in the grand alliance and we need to take some timely decisions", Anand, whose party is headed by its founder and former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha, told PTI.

The RLSP leader expressed dismay over the "complete lack of coordination" in the grand alliance and its "failure to learn any lessons from the recent departure of Jitan Ram Manjhi".

Manjhi, founding president of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) pulled out of the opposition grouping and joined the NDA last month.

"The grand alliance is headed by RJD and has the Congress as it's second largest constituent. Till date, both seem to have reached no agreement on the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav. What future can smaller allies like us think of in such a situation", Anand rued.

Asked whether the RLSP, which had quit the NDA ahead of the Lok Sabha polls last year, was thinking in terms of returning to the BJP-led coalition, Anand replied cryptically "politics is all about possibilities".

Sources in the grand alliance as well as the NDA, meanwhile, confirmed that "several rounds of talks" have taken place in recent days between leaders of RLSP, BJP and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U).

Notably, Kushwaha had started off as a Man Friday of Kumar but turned renegade in 2013 when he quit the JD(U), formed his own party and after performing handsomely in the general elections a year later got inducted into Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers.

He quit NDA in December, 2018, upset over a less than respectable offer in seat-sharing arrangements for which he blamed Nitish Kumar.

His return may bolster the JD(U) supremo who is trying to quell a possible rebellion from LJP chief Chirag Paswan.