Everything is fine, NDA as united as ever: Ram Vilas Paswan

The BJP leader added that it is Paswan who should have reasons to worry with the JD (U)’s insistence on getting a “respectable” number of seats for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. “Seats like Khagaria, Samastipur and Munger, currently held by the LJP, could be on the JD (U) wishlist. It would be interesting to see how Paswan reacts when the JD(U) brings up these seats in discussion,” said the leader.

Meanwhile, another NDA constituent, the RLSP, might lose some of its bargaining power with supporters of a rebel party MP floating a new party, Rashtriya Samata Party Secular. The RLSP contested and won three seats in the 2014 general election.

The new party has been floated by supporters of MP Arun Kumar, who was suspended from the RLSP last year for anti-party activities. Kumar is, however, not associated directly with the party as that would lead to him losing the Lok Sabha membership under the anti-defection law.

Interestingly, leaders in the new party have claimed it is an NDA ally. “Arun Kumar is a sitting MP, the BJP cannot ignore him,” said a BJP source.

RLSP’s state vice-president Jitendra Nath told The Indian Express, “Our strength has grown over the last five years. The BJP had given us three seats last time banking on the support base of (party chief) Upendra Kushwaha. Where does Arun Kumar come into the picture? If the RJD is reaching out to us, it means our value has gone up”.

Asked if the RLSP would demand more seats for 2019 than the last time, he said he was not competent to answer that.