Bihar Elections 2025: Why did Amit Shah invite ally Upendra Kushwaha to Delhi after seat snub?

Former member of the legislative council and Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLM) president, Upendra Kushwaha, left for Delhi today amidst the ongoing seat-sharing dispute within the NDA ahead of the Bihar elections.

Kushwaha announced on X that he was cancelling a meeting of party leaders in Patna to depart for Delhi along with the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai. He said, "Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai and I must depart for Delhi to discuss matters with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Therefore, the meeting scheduled for today with party colleagues at the camp office in Patna has been postponed immediately."

Shah's invite came after Kushwaha expressed his dissapointment over two of the party's six seats being suddenly allocated to other allies within the NDA. The party had already, reluctantly and conditionally agreed to accept the six seats assigned to them to field their candidates in a seat sharing meeting with the top leaders of the BJP. The six seats included Sasaram, Madhubani, Dinara, Bajpatti, Mahua, and Ujiarpur.

In a huge letdown, the party was later informed that two seats, Mahua and Dinara, would be given to the LJP (R) and the JDU, respectively.

Upendra Kushwahas’s son Deepak Kushwaha was supposed to field the Mahua seat and Alok Singh for Dinara.

He had publicly expressed his displeasure over the decision.

Since the comment was made, BJP leaders have rushed to hold talks with the RLM leader to persuade him. Late into Tuesday night, Bihar BJP in-charge Vinod Tawde, Deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary, and Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai were all seen arriving at Kushwaha’s residence.

Nothing seemed to come out of the meeting, however. While speaking to the media, Kushwaha just said , "Ask the same questions you are asking me to Samrat Chaudhary and Nityanand Rai."

Kushwaha also created a storm in political circles by saying, "This time nothing is well in the NDA..."

He had then forbidden all party leaders from attending the nominations of NDA leaders and had called for an emergency meeting of the party leaders which has now been postponed.

After reaching Delhi on Wednesday he said to ANI "I had said this in Patna as well that there is some issue in the alliance (NDA) that has to be resolved. We have come here to meet the Home Minister and believe that everything will be resolved."

The Kushwaha makes up around 4.21 per cent of Bihar's population and Upendra Kushwaha is a prominent leader that can pull votes from the caste group. The RLM had earlier been allied with the JDU in 2010 and then switched to contest with the BJP in 2015. In 2020, the party formed an alliance with the BSP called the Grand Democratic Secular Front which defeated the NDA in 13 seats. The NDA then joined hands with the party for the upcoming elections. However the party's dissatisfaction with the seat-sharing might end up being a blow to the BJP-led alliance.

India