It’s a do-or-die-like situation for the former Union minister and JDU MLC Upendra Kushwaha in the party. The allegation and counter-allegation by party leadership and Kushwaha have now turned into a twist when the top leadership refused to consider him as the chairman of the party’s parliamentary committee.

Now, his days in the party seem to have numbered. Let’s see how it takes shape.

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He is ‘damaging’ his image himself, said party leaders. Party’s national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh has shown him “exit door” saying Kushwaha does not hold any organisational post in the party. He is simply the party MLC in the Upper House.

The party president, while talking to the media on Monday, categorically said there was nobody as the chairman of the JDU parliamentary committee now. The said post does not exist. Now, only two posts exist – the national president and the state party president – Lallan Singh and Umesh Singh Kushwaha, respectively. They were elected in December last. Barring these two, all party posts were dissolved, Lallan Singh told the media. So, there is no question of the existence of any such posts now, he said.

The party has authorised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to nominate the chairman of the JDU parliamentary committee. He is yet to nominate anyone till date, the party president said.

In the meantime, Kushwaha has already convened a JDU party meeting of workers and members on February 19-20. The state party president Umesh Singh Kushwaha warned his party members not to attend Kushwaha-sponsored party meetings. If anyone attends it, the party will take action against him, he warned.

However, Kushwaha still keeps saying he is still working to strengthen the party. But the party’s top leader insisted that he has been damaging the interest of the party.

CM Nitish Kumar, who is currently on “Samadhaan Yatra”, told the media in Banka, “I have given him due respect in the party. I have accepted him in the party for the third time. Every day, he is busy making statement against us in the media. It clearly indicates that he has got positive signals from them.” He said this without naming BJP.

The CM categorically said those who want to leave the party let them go. It will make no impact on the party. In fact, we have become more robust by enrolling more than 75 lakh party members now, CM said.

He recalled that this was the second time the BJP has been doing the exercise to weaken the party. In the 2020 state assembly poll, the BJP had extended tacit support to LJP leader Chirag Paswan by fielding his candidate against our nominee in various assembly segments.

CM Nitish recalled that Khashwaha had said he would stay in the party when he returned to the party the third time in 2021.

Within a short span of period, two prominent party leaders – RCP Singh, former IAS and RS member Prashant Kishor, former party vice-president and Upendra Prasad Kushwaha, MLC – have been raising serious questions about the top leadership. Both these leaders openly “made direct” attacks on the party’s top brass. They questioned the CM’s “coterie” of chosen few politicians who have been damaging the party. The party has already expelled RCP Singh from the party.

Meanwhile, the poll analyst-turned-politician Prashant Kishor is currently on padyatra exposing the government on almost every front.