Aage-Aage dekhiye: Nitish Kumar refuses to reveal cards on RLSP-JDU merger

Refusing to reveal cards on merger with Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) president Upendra Kushwaha, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday said, "Aage-Aage dekhiye (let's see)", however on the other side Kushwaha called a meeting of its functionaries from the district as well as from the national level for the two-days meeting to decide its future course of action.

"There will be a meeting of the party's national and state executives on March 13 and 14. During that meeting, the district council, district president and all the RLSP party workers will be present and will work on whatever party decides,' Kushwaha said indirectly hinting at the merger.

Kushwaha, who was then a JD(U) Rajya Sabha member, had parted ways in 2013 and floated his own outfit. Then, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had accepted the RLSP under its wing. The party had won all the three Lok Sabha seats it contested, riding the Modi's wave and Kushwaha was elected from Karakat and was given a berth in the Union council of ministers.

A few years later he crossed over to the Grand Alliance on the eve of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, quitting his ministerial berth.

In the recent Bihar assembly election 2020, he fought the elections as part of an alliance comprising, among others, Asaduddin Owaisis AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) and Mayawatis' Bahujan Samaj Party, declaring itself the Chief Ministerial candidate but could not win even a single seat.

On the other side, BJP won more seats than JD(U) now Nitish Kumar is busy consolidating his grip over the "Luv Kush" combination, a colloquial term for OBC (Other Backward Class) Kurmis and Kushwaha who have stood by Kumar's side in the worst of times.