Upendra Kushwaha eyes tie-up with small outfits for UP polls

BJP ally RLSP, which has decided to go solo in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, is in talks with small outfits linked to certain backward castes, a group being eyed by the saffron party too, and Muslims to form an alliance.
In a meeting headed by its president and Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha yesterday, the Bihar-based party had finalised its candidates for close to 75 seats as it decide to fight the polls on its own after receiving little response from BJP for a tie-up.
A Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) leader said it is in talks with former BSP leader Babu Singh Kushwaha-led Jan Adhikar Manch, Peace Party, which enjoys some following among Muslims in parts of the state, Mahan Dal and Samanta Dal, two parties eyeing a clutch of backward castes.

Kushwaha is eyeing the Kushwaha, Maurya, Shakya and Saini communities which have a reputation for voting on similar lines in the state known for caste alliances, to give his party a boost outside Bihar.
BJP too has assiduously built its base among these communities by inducting a number of leaders from these groupings into its fold and giving higher profiles to those long among its ranks.