BJP ally in Bihar wants 2019 seat-sharing finalised now

After JD-U and LJP, another BJP ally -- Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) -- on Saturday demanded a decision on which party will contest how many seats in of 2019 Lok Sabha elections, citing lack of coordination in the BJP-led NDA.

RLSP chief and Union Minister of State for HRD Upendra Kushwaha said all allies of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) should sit together and finalise the strategy for the polls, including seat sharing, ahead of the 2019 general elections.

The demand may spell trouble for the NDA in Bihar with regard to seat sharing, as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is keen to play the "big brother" given its better-than-expected performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

After the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) wrested the Jokihat Assembly seat from the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) in Bihar and the BJP was defeated in two Lok sabha bypolls, including Kairana in Uttar Pradesh, senior JD-U leader K.C. Tayagi blamed rising prices of petrol and diesel for the drubbing and raised the issue of lack of coordination in the NDA.

Expressing concern over repeated defeat of the BJP in bypolls, Kushwaha said there was something wrong. "Taking note of it, NDA should call a meeting to discuss with its allies."

Like JD-U leader Tayagi and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Pashupati Kumar Paras, Kushwaha also said that rising prices of petrol and diesel mainly angered people and that the government should review it.

--IANS

ik/nir