RLSP chief Kushwaha to skip NDA gathering in Patna

Hours before a gathering of the ruling NDA here, one of its constituent, the RLSP, struck a discordant note with its leader Upendra Kushwaha excusing himself from attending the meeting and a party leader demanding that the next Bihar polls be fought under Kushwaha's leadership.

The Rashtriya Lok Samata Party also disapproved of JD(U) assertion that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is the "face" of the NDA in Bihar and put forward a view that the decision about the leadership should be taken after a consensus among coalition partners instead of one party "imposing" its views.

The Bihar assembly polls must be fought under Kushwaha's leadership, RLSP working president Nagamani said.

"This is because he is the leader of a community which is the largest, after the Yadavs, among OBCs. Kushwahas account for about 10 per cent of the total population in the state."