Key BJP Ally Upendra Kushwaha Quits as Minister, Exits National Democratic Alliance

NEW DELHI: Ahead of a meeting of Opposition parties on Monday to chalk out a common strategy to fight the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance received yet another jolt with key ally Upendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) quitting the alliance and resigning as a Minister in the Narendra Modi government. After Telugu Desam Party, RLSP is the second key ally to quit the ruling NDA.

Kushwaha, who has been at loggerheads with the BJP for some time, sent his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he (Modi) had failed to live up to the promises made to the people of Bihar, according to an IANS report.

"Having served in your Council of Minister for the last 55 months, I stand dejected and betrayed by your leadership," he said in a letter sent to Modi, adding that "There has been a fundamental conflict in what you have promised to the people before elections and what you have actually delivered after coming to power."

Kushwaha was a Minister of State for Human Resource Development in the Modi government.

Kushwaha’s RLSP has its base in Bihar where the BJP is running the government in alliance with the Janata Dal (United). His resignation also comes a day ahead of the crucial Assembly poll results in five states – Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram – being seeing as semi-finals to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

According to NDTV, Kushwaha’s resignation will be a “huge boost” for the opposition, especially in Bihar, which has 40 Lok Sabha seats, especially for the Rashtriya Janata Dal, headed by Tejashwi Yadav.

“Sharad Yadav, Nitish Kumar's arch rival who quit his JD (U) last year, is believed to be ready to merge his party with Mr Kushwaha's, so together they can have a better share of seats in an opposition alliance,” said the NDTV report.

Recently, RLSP had also passed a resolution criticising the Modi-led Central government on the certain “objectionable” decisions.

"We are not opposed to construction of mosques and temples. But this is not the function of political parties and their meddling in such matters causes tensions in the society and diverts the attention of the public from real issues," said the party's resolution.

Of late, the Sangh Parivar and various Hindutva outfits have been mounting pressure on the Modi government to bring in an ordinance for speedy construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in a bid to polarise voters on religious lines in the run-up to the general elections next year.