After leaving NDA, Kushwaha says ‘grand alliance’, third front are ‘options’ for him

Patna (Bihar) [India], Dec 19 (ANI): More than a week after quitting NDA, Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) on Wednesday indicated that it may go with the ‘grand alliance’ or a third front, saying these are “options” for his party.
The party chief Upendra Kushwaha praised Congress President Rahul Gandhi, saying he has developed personality and people are looking towards him as an option for replacing Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister.
In an exclusive conversation with ANI, Kushwaha said the BJP’s “arrogance” and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar were the reasons for his quitting the NDA.
RLSP, a Bihar-based party which has three seats in the Lok Sabha, pulled out of the NDA on December 10, while targeting the BJP leadership.
Kushwaha said Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), another party based in Bihar, should also leave the NDA.
“People of NDA have become arrogant, particularly in the context of Bihar such as Nitish Kumar, who is also being supported by the key leadership of BJP. Their conceit was somewhere a big reason behind us getting away from them,” Kushwaha told ANI.
“Others would also not be safe from this arrogance for long. Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) must also come out of alliance as soon as possible. These people have decided to destroy small parties and if LJP has also started to feel the same, they must exit the alliance at the earliest,” he added.
Attacking the Modi government of which he was a part for four and a half years, Kushwaha said, “Countdown for the central government has begun. People had great expectations from it but it disappointed people of the country. Farmers are in distress, the youth did not get employment. So naturally, there will be change now.”
He criticised the BJP on the Ram temple issue, saying it is not interested in constructing it but only “misleading” people for votes.
He also launched a scathing attack on the Bihar government and said it has “completely failed” to fulfil the expectations of people.
“Janata Dal (United) and BJP have governed Bihar for about 13-14 years now. There were a lot of expectations from Nitish Kumar and this government. Education would improve, healthcare facilities for poor will get better, youth migration will stop but nothing as such happened,” hecharged.
“If they could not do it in all these years when their third term is about to end, people would naturally desire a change. In this time whosoever will be with Nitish Kumar would also face worse. It is good that if BJP is with them, they will also go down with them and both Bihar and the country would get a good government,” he added. (ANI)