Finally, And Once Again: Upendra Kushwaha Leaves JD(U), Announces Formation Of Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal

Upendra Kushwaha today (February 20) announced his exit from the Janata Dal (United) and the creation of a new political outfit named Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal at a press meet.

 At the press conference, he also announced that he would leave the post of Member of Legislative Council (MLC) and quashed expectations of joining the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

Who is Upendra Kushwaha?

Upendra Kushwaha is a Member of Legislative Council (MLC) and the National Parliamentary Board Chairman of the JD(U). He is a prominent leader of the Kurmi-Koeri community and was widely seen as the protégé and successor of Nitish Kumar in the party.

He has been sulking ever since Nitish broke off with BJP to form an alliance with RJD, and wasn’t awarded a co-Deputy Chief Minister post as he hoped. He was also unhappy at Nitish’s announcement that Deputy CM and RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav would lead the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) in the upcoming 2025 state Assembly elections.

Speculations of him leaving the party to either join the BJP or revive his own outfit Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) have been doing the rounds for the last two months. He has been involved in a sharp exchange of remarks with the JD(U) chief, with the CM even asking him to leave the party if he so wishes.

This will be the third occasion that Kushwaha has quit the JD(U) since 2009. Most recently, he merged RSLP with JD(U) in August 2021, after the latter broke its alliance with the BJP and re-entered the alliance with RJD and Congress.

Kushwaha vs Nitish

Kushwaha had previously alleged that Nitish’s policies were weakening the party from the inside and the party was losing serious ground among the voters. He also blamed Nitish for ignoring him and not paying heed to his warnings.

He also demanded that Nitish reveal the “special deal” struck between JD(U) and RJD before the ‘merger’ of JD(U) with the latter. He had called a meeting

In the press meeting today, Kushwaha praised Nitish Kumar for carrying on with the legacy of Karpuri Thakur and George Fernandes, but accused him of having lost his way.

“What Nitish is doing today is bad for Bihar. Nitish has lost everything, he has nothing in his hands. What will I ask for when he has nothing?” he said.

“Few people have cornered him and he works according to their wishes. He has publicly said that Lalan Singh and Vijay Yadav pushed for the alliance with RJD. He never announced a successor, he is surrounded by people desperate to grab whatever they can while the JD(U) vanishes,” he added.

“Therefore, we need a new instrument if want to save the legacy of Karpuri Thakur, Lalu Yadav, and Nitish Kumar,” Kushwaha concluded.