Former MP Santosh Kushwaha decides to quit JD(U) and join RJD ahead of Assembly polls in Bihar

PATNA: Bihar CM Nitish Kumars Janata Dal (United) is set to face another setback ahead of assembly elections as former Purnea MP Santosh Kushwaha has decided to quit the party and join Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) led by former chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. Kushwaha, who served as MP from Purnea for two terms, was in touch with Lalu Prasad and his son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav ever since he lost the election last year. Sources said that RJD is planning to field Kushwaha against Lesi Singh, JD(U) MLA in Dhamdaha. Kushwahas switch to RJD may have repercussions on JD(U)s poll prospects in the upcoming election, as he has been a prominent face of JD(U) in the Purnea region. People from the Luv-Kush community supported Kushwaha in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019, a JD(U) leader said. Nomination begins for first phase of Bihar polls; seat-sharing talks intensify in NDA, INDIA bloc Nitish Kumar is NDA's CM face in upcoming Bihar assembly polls: Union minister Giriraj Singh Kushwaha, however, lost in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. It's not just Kushwaha who is set to join RJD ahead of the election. Chanakya Prakash, son of JD(U) MP from Banka Giridhari Yadav, and Rahul Sharma, son of former Jehanabad MP Jagdish Sharma, are also likely to join RJD. Rahul had earlier served as an MLA from Ghosi in Jehanabad. Last week, JD(U) MLA from Parbatta Sanjeev Kumar resigned from the party and joined the RJD. Hailing from the Upper casteBhumihar, Sanjeevs joining has come as a boost for Tejashwi Yadav. Political analysts see the development as a strategic attempt by RJD to strengthen the partys support base beyond its traditional Muslim-Yadav (MY) base. The party has shown interest in attracting people from Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) and Dalits. Sources said that RJD will hold a meeting at its party office in the evening to welcome new entrants. Santosh Kushwaha, Chanakya Prakash and Rahul Sharma will join RJD in the presence of a host of senior leaders, including Tejashwi Yadav. RJD is holding a high-level meeting to decide a seat-sharing deal and partys strategy for the assembly election. The meeting of the Central and State parliamentary boards will take a final call on seat-sharing, an RJD leader said on condition of anonymity. Uncertainty grips NDA, INDIA bloc over seat-sharing as nomination process begins in Bihar