Upendra Kushwaha meets Sharad Yadav, fuels speculation over his next move

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RLSP president and BJP ally Upendra Kushwaha met opposition leader Sharad Yadav Monday, fuelling speculation that he may switch camps over his differences with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the proposed seat-sharing arrangement among the saffron party's Bihar allies for the Lok Sabha polls.

Kushwaha, also a Union minister, met Yadav at the latter's residence and both the leaders were believed to discussed the current political situation, especially in Bihar, RLSP sources said.

In a tweet, Kushwaha described the meeting as a courtesy call.

He has often asserted that he would work to get Narendra Modi elected as prime minister for another term but his unease with Kumar and meetings with opposition leaders, including RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, have sparked speculation about his future course.

Yadav had snapped ties with Kumar after the JD(U) chief joined hands with the BJP last year, and he was working to rally the opposition against the saffron party.

Kushwaha has expressed reservations to the BJP president Amit Shah's proposal that both his party and Ram Vilas Paswan-led LJP contest fewer number of seats in 2019 than they did in 2014 so that Kumar's JD(U) could be allotted as many seats as the saffron party fights.

The RLSP, which had fought three seats in 2014 and won all, is unlikely to be spared more than two seats.

An old rival of Kumar, Kushwaha had also attacked the chief minister for allegedly insulting him and had targeted him again Sunday over reports that two MLAs of his party may join the JD(U).

He had said he would apprise Shah of the "humiliation" he had suffered at the hands of Kumar and also request him to clear the confusion over seat-sharing among the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituents in the state at the earliest.

He also made a jibe at Kumar, saying the JD(U)president had an expertise in breaking parties but he would continue with his fight.