Rashtriya Lok Samta Party
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Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (abbreviated as RLSP;
translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...
: ''National People's Equity Party'') was a
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
in India led by
Upendra Kushwaha Upendra Kumar Singh, commonly known as Upendra Kushwaha (born 6 February 1960) is an Indian politician, and a former Member of Bihar Legislative Council and Bihar Legislative Assembly. He has also served as Minister of State for Human Resources ...
. It was launched on 3 March 2013 and was based in the state of
Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
. The party came into existence as a result of a feud between Nitish Kumar and
Upendra Kushwaha Upendra Kumar Singh, commonly known as Upendra Kushwaha (born 6 February 1960) is an Indian politician, and a former Member of Bihar Legislative Council and Bihar Legislative Assembly. He has also served as Minister of State for Human Resources ...
, after which Kushwaha left The Nitish Kumar lead
Janata Dal (United) Janata Dal (United) ("People's Party (United)"), abbreviated as JD(U), is a Social democracy, social-democratic and secular List of political parties in India, Indian political party, rooted mainly in East India, eastern and Northeast India, ...
and formed his own party. It has faced multiple rebellions and desertions since 2015. After the relations between Nitish and Kushwaha normalized,
Upendra Kushwaha Upendra Kumar Singh, commonly known as Upendra Kushwaha (born 6 February 1960) is an Indian politician, and a former Member of Bihar Legislative Council and Bihar Legislative Assembly. He has also served as Minister of State for Human Resources ...
merged RLSP into JDU on 14 March 2021, with this, the party ceased to exist.


History of the party


Background

Upendra Kushwaha Upendra Kumar Singh, commonly known as Upendra Kushwaha (born 6 February 1960) is an Indian politician, and a former Member of Bihar Legislative Council and Bihar Legislative Assembly. He has also served as Minister of State for Human Resources ...
was dismissed from the
Janata Dal (United) Janata Dal (United) ("People's Party (United)"), abbreviated as JD(U), is a Social democracy, social-democratic and secular List of political parties in India, Indian political party, rooted mainly in East India, eastern and Northeast India, ...
in 2007. Kushwaha founded the Rashtriya Samata Party in February 2009. The party was formed in the backdrop of alleged marginalisation of the
Koeri The Koeri (spelt as Koiry or Koiri), also referred to as Kushwaha and more recently self-described as Maurya in several parts of northern India are an Indian non-elite caste, found largely in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, whose traditional oc ...
caste and autocratic rule by the Nitish Kumar government in
Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
. The formation of the party was supported by Chhagan Bhujbal, the deputy chief minister of
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
. In November 2009, the party was merged into the Janata Dal (United) with the mending of ties between Kushwaha and Kumar. On 4 January 2013, Upendra Kushwaha who at the time was a
Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...
member resigned from the
Janata Dal (United) Janata Dal (United) ("People's Party (United)"), abbreviated as JD(U), is a Social democracy, social-democratic and secular List of political parties in India, Indian political party, rooted mainly in East India, eastern and Northeast India, ...
. He alleged that the Nitish model had failed and that the law and order situation was becoming as bad as it had been 7 years ago. He further alleged that the Nitish Kumar runs his government through autocratic means and that he had turned the
Janata Dal (United) Janata Dal (United) ("People's Party (United)"), abbreviated as JD(U), is a Social democracy, social-democratic and secular List of political parties in India, Indian political party, rooted mainly in East India, eastern and Northeast India, ...
into his "pocket organisation".


Formation and early years

Kushwaha launched the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party in a rally in Gandhi Maidan,
Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...
on 3 March 2013. The party's base was reported to be primarily among the member of
Koeri The Koeri (spelt as Koiry or Koiri), also referred to as Kushwaha and more recently self-described as Maurya in several parts of northern India are an Indian non-elite caste, found largely in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, whose traditional oc ...
or
Kushwaha Kushwaha (sometimes Kushvaha), is a community of the Indo-Gangetic Plain that has traditionally been involved in agriculture, including beekeeping. The term has been used to represent different sub-castes of the Kachhis, Kachhvahas, Koeris ...
caste, which is recognised as a dominant Backward Caste in state of Bihar. At the time of formation, Kushwaha had stated that the party will attempt to overthrow the
National Democratic Alliance The National Democratic Alliance (NDA; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrīya Lokatāntrik Gaṭhabandhan'') is an Indian big tent Political group, multi-party political alliance, led by the country's biggest political party, the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...
in the state of
Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
. However, following the departure of the
Janata Dal (United) Janata Dal (United) ("People's Party (United)"), abbreviated as JD(U), is a Social democracy, social-democratic and secular List of political parties in India, Indian political party, rooted mainly in East India, eastern and Northeast India, ...
from the alliance, the party joined the National Democratic Alliance. In the subsequent
2014 Indian general election General elections were held in India in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014 to elect the members of the 16th Lok Sabha. With 834 million registered voters, they were the largest-ever elections in the world until being surpassed by the 2019 ...
, it contested 3 parliamentary seats in
Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
( Sitamarhi, Karakat and Jahanabad) as part of the alliance and won all of them. Upendra Kushwaha was elected from the Karakat constituency and was appointed as the Minister of State of Human Resource Development. In the following
2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly election The Legislative Assembly election was held over five phases in Bihar through October–November 2015 before the end of the tenure of the prior Legislative Assembly of Bihar on 29 November 2015. In April 2015, the Janata Parivar Alliance group ...
, the party contested 23 out of 243 seats as part of the alliance but was able to have its representative elected from only two seats.


Factionalism and desertions

From late 2015 onward, the party was divided into two factions; one led by
Upendra Kushwaha Upendra Kumar Singh, commonly known as Upendra Kushwaha (born 6 February 1960) is an Indian politician, and a former Member of Bihar Legislative Council and Bihar Legislative Assembly. He has also served as Minister of State for Human Resources ...
and the other led by Arun Kumar, the member of parliament from the Jahanabad constituency. In 2016, the faction of Arun Kumar held a meeting which announced the replacement of Kushwaha with Arun Kumar as the leader of the party. Lalan Paswan, a member of the
Bihar Legislative Assembly The Bihar Legislative Assembly, also known as the Bihar Vidhan Sabha, is the lower house of the bicameral Bihar Legislature of the state of Bihar in India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is ...
from the party had also attended the meeting. Kumar claimed that his faction was the real representatives of the party and decided to move to the
Election Commission of India The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body established by Constitution of India, the Constitution of the Republic of India empowered to conduct free and fair elections in the Republic of India. It is headed by a Chief Ele ...
staking claim to the party name and symbol while further accusing Kushwaha of adopting autocratic means of running the party. In retaliation, the Kushwaha faction constituting the disciplinary committee of the party recommended the suspension of both Arun Kumar and Lalan Paswan for "indiscipline and anti-party activities". The disciplinary committee was headed by Ram Kumar Sharma, the other member of parliament from the party. In June 2018, the party formally split with the faction of Arun Kumar forming the Rashtriya Samata Party (Secular). In the same year, the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party left the National Democratic Alliance. The party had been involved in an argument with the alliance over seat sharing arrangement for the upcoming general election while targeting the Janata Dal (United) which had rejoined the alliance. This led to rebellion from all the three state legislators of the party, who declared that they represented the real party, raising objections that they intended to remain in the alliance. The legislators were at the time attempting to get Sudhanshu Shekhar included in the Council of Ministers of Bihar which was led by Nitish Kumar. Shekhar was one of the legislators of the state party in Bihar. However on 20 December 2018, Upendra Kushwaha declared that the party had joined the opposition
United Progressive Alliance The United Progressive Alliance (UPA; Hindi: Saṁyukta Pragatiśīl Gaṭhabandhan) was a Political group, political alliance in India led by the Indian National Congress. It was formed after the 2004 Indian general election, 2004 general ele ...
. Earlier in 2017, the
Nagmani Nagmani Kushwaha (born 15 Jan 1953) is an Indian politician from Bihar and Jharkhand. He is the son of another Bihar politician and Social ReformerJagdeo Prasad, in whose party Shoshit Samaj Dal, Nagmani started his career. He has served as an ...
led Samras Samaj Party had been merged into the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party. Nagmani was subsequently made the national executive of the party. In February 2019, he was sacked from the post for alleged "anti-party" activities following which he resigned from the party on grounds that Upendra Kushwaha was allegedly selling party tickets for the upcoming election. In the
2019 Indian general election General elections were held in India in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the result was declared on 23 May. Around 912 million people were eligible to vote, and vote ...
, the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party contested on 5 parliamentary seats as part of the United Progressive Alliance with Upendra Kushwaha contesting from two seats. The party was however unable to win on a single seat while the alliance won just one seat in Bihar. Following the election, all the three formerly dissident state legislators of the party joined the
Janata Dal (United) Janata Dal (United) ("People's Party (United)"), abbreviated as JD(U), is a Social democracy, social-democratic and secular List of political parties in India, Indian political party, rooted mainly in East India, eastern and Northeast India, ...
.


2020 Bihar Assembly Elections


Exit from mainstream coalitions

In the wake of the
2020 Bihar Legislative Assembly election The Bihar Legislative Assembly election was held in three phases through October–November to elect members to the Seventeenth Bihar Legislative Assembly. The term of the previous Sixteenth Legislative Assembly of Bihar ended on 29 November 20 ...
, Upendra Kushwaha pulled the party out of the
Rashtriya Janata Dal The Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD; translation: National People's Party) is an Indian political party, mainly based in the state of Bihar. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav. The party's support base has traditionally been Other ...
led Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance), the extension of the United Progressive Alliance in Bihar. The party entered into an alliance with the
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
based
Bahujan Samaj Party The Bahujan Samaj Party ( BSP) is a political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), along with Religious ...
and the minor Janatantrik Party (Socialist); according to Kushwaha both the major alliances were no different from each other. According to the ''
Dainik Bhaskar ''Dainik Bhaskar '' () is a Hindi-language daily newspaper in India which is owned by the Dainik Bhaskar Group. According to the World Association of Newspapers, it ranked fourth in the world by circulation in 2016 and per the Indian Audit ...
'', the unorthodox alliance was symptomatic of a pattern of shrinking space for smaller parties leaving them with less leverage in seat sharing negotiations within larger alliances. Following the new arrangement, the state president of the party, Bhudeo Choudhary resigned from his position and joined the
Rashtriya Janata Dal The Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD; translation: National People's Party) is an Indian political party, mainly based in the state of Bihar. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav. The party's support base has traditionally been Other ...
. This was followed by the national general secretary Madhav Anand resigning from his party membership while stating that the decision for an alliance with minor players was "inconsequential" and could potentially finish the party. Subsequently, the new state president of the party, Bharat Bind resigned to join the
Rashtriya Janata Dal The Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD; translation: National People's Party) is an Indian political party, mainly based in the state of Bihar. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav. The party's support base has traditionally been Other ...
as well. During the campaign stage, the new coalition was merged with another smaller one consisting of the
Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...
based All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and the
Devendra Prasad Yadav Devendra Prasad Yadav (born 26 November 1953) is a former member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Jhanjharpur constituency of Bihar and was a member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal (United) and Janata Dal. He joine ...
led Samajwadi Janata Dal Democratic to form the Grand Democratic Secular Alliance, this alliance also included the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party and declared Upendra Kushwaha as the candidate for the position of
Chief Minister of Bihar The chief minister of Bihar serves as the head of the Government of Bihar, overseeing its administration and governance within the constitutional framework of India. While the Governor of Bihar holds the ceremonial role of the constitutional h ...
. In the meantime, the former member of the legislative assembly Ajay Pratap joined the party.


fielding of candidates

Relying upon its vote base which is
Kushwaha Kushwaha (sometimes Kushvaha), is a community of the Indo-Gangetic Plain that has traditionally been involved in agriculture, including beekeeping. The term has been used to represent different sub-castes of the Kachhis, Kachhvahas, Koeris ...
caste, RLSP fielded 40% Kushwaha candidates in the elections . The Grand Democratic Secular Front of which RLSP was a constituent member relied primarily upon the votes of castes like Kushwahas, Ravidasis, and
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
s . RLSP in the first phase of elections contested a total of 42 seats amongst which it gave ticket to 17 candidates of Kushwaha caste while its ally AIMIM placed its candidates in Muslim dominated areas of Bihar. Similarly in the list of its 37 candidates in the second phase also Koeri candidates were dominant accounting for 18 seats.


Result

RLSP failed to grab any seat but its allies AIMIM and BSP ended up getting 6 seat overall. The percentage of vote earned by AIMIM was smaller as compared to the RLSP but unlike the former it emerged stronger in the Simanchal region of Bihar. It also showed its strong presence on many seats including Dinara and Saffron.


Merger into JD(U)

Following the poor performance of the party in 2020 Bihar assembly elections, the speculation of Upendra Kushwaha's merger with JD(U) rose again. This speculation, however was not clear until March 2021, which led many party leaders including acting state president of RLSP, Veerendra Kushwaha joining hands with the
Rashtriya Janata Dal The Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD; translation: National People's Party) is an Indian political party, mainly based in the state of Bihar. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav. The party's support base has traditionally been Other ...
. The party finally merged into JDU, from which it was formed as a result of split in 2013 and Kushwaha was made the president of parliamentary board of the JD(U). The merger and the heartwarming welcome to Upendra Kushwaha was seen as the attempt to revive JD(U)'s old social coalition of Kurmi-Koeri
caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
s, which was utilised by Nitish Kumar to oust the
Rashtriya Janata Dal The Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD; translation: National People's Party) is an Indian political party, mainly based in the state of Bihar. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav. The party's support base has traditionally been Other ...
from power after the 1990s.


Electoral performance


State elections in Bihar


General elections in Bihar


See also

*
Samata Party The Samata Party (SAP) is a political party in India, initially formed in 1994 by George Fernandes and Nitish Kumar, is now being led by Uday Mandal as its National President. Samata Party once launched Nitish Kumar as the Chief Minister of ...
*
List of political parties in India India has a multi-party system. The Election Commission of India (ECI) grants recognition to national-level and state-level political parties based on objective criteria. A recognised political party enjoys privileges such as a reserved party ...


References

Notes Citations


External links


Official Website 1Official Website 2
{{Janata Parivar parties Political parties in Bihar Socialist parties in India Political parties established in 2013 Politics of Bihar Janata Parivar 2013 establishments in Bihar Rashtriya Lok Samata Party Political parties disestablished in 2021 2021 disestablishments in India