RLSP wants Kushwaha as NDA's CM face in Bihar

Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) today proposed that its chief Upendra Kushwaha be projected as the NDA's chief ministerial face in Bihar and asked the BJP to contest in 102 assembly seats, leaving 74 and 67 seats for the LJP and itself respectively.
"We have proposed that our chief (Upendra Kushwaha) be projected as the NDA's chief ministerial candidate for Bihar assembly polls to bolster its electoral prospects," RLSP's state unit president Arun Kumar told reporters.
"It's our considered view that Kushwaha's projection as the NDA's chief ministerial candidate will definitely boost its electoral prospects in Bihar," he said and informed that the RLSP has passed a resolution in this regard at its two-day meeting held in Vaishali that concluded yesterday.

Asked to justify the RLSP's resolution propping up Kushwaha's name as the NDA's chief ministerial face after LJP supremo Ramvilas Paswan ruled himself out from the race, the RLSP MP from Jehanabad said his party would like Kushwaha, the Union Minister of State for HRD, to be made the NDA's chief ministerial face, given the stature as a senior politician.
On Paswan's withdrawal from the race, he said it was a choice made by the LJP supremo.
Kumar, however, hastened to say that the RLSP's resolution on Kushwaha's candidature for the chief minister's post was a mere proposal at this stage and said that his party was open to the idea of resolution of the issue through discussion among the allies.

Putting forward a seat sharing formula among the NDA allies for poll-bound Bihar, the RLSP state unit chief asked the BJP to contest in 102 seats and leave 74 and 67 respectively for the LJP and RLSP.
Kumar said his party's suggestion to the BJP to contest 102 seats only was based on the fact that it had contested as many seats in the past two assembly polls in alliance with the JD(U) which had fielded contestants in remaining 141 seats.
"We want proportionate distribution of seats among the NDA partners under which the BJP should contest in as many seats as it had contested in past two assembly polls," he said.