RLSP merges with JD(U), Kushwaha named parliamentary board chairman

The Rashtriya Lok Samata Party or RLSP, formed by Upendra Kushwaha in 2013, merged with the JD(U) on Sunday. The move comes about nine years after Kushwaha's fall out with JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

On Sunday, Nitish said the union of the two parties will make the JD(U) all the more stronger and named Kushwaha the chairman of its parliamentary board. Kushwaha said, Nitish was his elder brother, and the JD(U) is his old home.

In 2014, Kushwaha joined the NDA and the RLSP successfully contested from three seats in the general elections, with Kushwaha emerging victorious from the Karakat seat. However, in the 2015 Bihar polls, the RLSP performed poorly. In 2019, the RLSP contested the general elections with the Grand Alliance but could not win a single seat.

Reports say, Kushwaha’s merger with the JD(U) is being seen as a major consolidation bid by Nitish for OBC Luv-Kush (Kurmi-Koeri) votes, with the community accounting for about 10% of Bihar’s population.

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