LJP slams Upendra Kushwaha over seat-sharing

The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) on Wednesday said all the NDA partners in Bihar would have to compromise on seat allocation for 2019 elections even as it slammed Rashtriya Lok Samaj Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha for going public on the issue and holding talks with opposition leaders.

On the sidelines of LJP's 19th foundation day, party president and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told reporters that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had become stronger after the entry of Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal-United into the fold.

"Everyone will have to make compromise," Paswan said, replying to a query on seat-sharing in Bihar.

He said the party had given powers to his son and LJP Parliamentary Board chairman and MP Chirag Paswan to hold negotiations with other NDA constituents.

The LJP would expect "respectable compromise" on the seat allocation, Chirag Paswan said.

He expressed his displeasure over Kushwaha speaking his mind on the seat-sharing arrangements in Bihar on social media.

He also slammed Kushwaha, who is a Union Minister, for holding talks with NDA leaders and opposition leaders simultaneously.

"Seat-sharing talks should be kept as internal matter. Whenever you go public about it, attempts are made to make the alliance look weak. The opposition gets a chance to criticise it," he said.

He said the LJP wanted to fight the 2019 elections together with the RLSP, but critisiced Kushwaha for holding discussions with opposition leaders.

"When he discusses the issue with (BJP chief) Amit Shah, he also holds talks with Sharad Yadav (of Loktantrik Janata Dal). He holds discussions with NDA leaders and RJD leaders simultaneously. It is like rowing in two boats the same time," he said.

Last month, the BJP and the JD-U had announced that they will contest an equal number of seats.

While announcing the seat-sharing formula, Shah had said that when a new friend (JD-U) has joined the alliance, the number of seats for each will come down.

With reports of two seats being offered to the RLSP, Kushwaha had last month announced names of his party candidates for the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, a move seen as a pressure tactic to bargain for more seats in Bihar.

--IANS

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