Amid tussle with Nitish, Upendra Kushwaha’s convoy attacked in Arrah

Luckily, the former Union minister escaped unhurt.

New Delhi | Updated: 30 January, 2023 8:24 pm IST

However, the alleged attackers claimed Kushwaha's supporters thrashed them when they were protesting against him peacefully.

Amid his ongoing tussle with Janata Dal-United (JDU) boss Nitish Kumar, dissident senior party leader Upendra Kushwaha’s convoy was attacked by some people in Arrah on Monday evening.

Kushwaha, who is at loggerheads with Nitish loyalists, was returning to Patna after holding a meeting with his supporters in Buxur when some unidentified people pelted stones at his car at Nayka Tola Mor in Jagdishpur area of Arrah in Bhojpur district.

Luckily, the former Union minister escaped unhurt.

Speaking to media persons, Kushwaha said, “Some people threw stones at my convoy and in Jagdishpur and fled the spot. I could not identify the attackers.”

Visuals from the spot showed Kushwaha’s supporters beating up a group of men, who claimed that they did not attack the JDU leader’s convoy but were merely staging a protest against him.

“We were protesting against him for trying to divide and weaken the Kushwaha community. But his supporters beat us up with sticks,” said Ashok Kushwaha, showing his fresh wounds.

Kushwaha, who first revolted against his boss in 2013 by giving up his Rajya Sabha seat and floating a new outfit named Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), has been engaged in a bitter war of words with CM Nitish Kumar since three BJP leaders met him at AIIMS, Delhi on January 20.

The next day, CM Nitish Kumar said, “Everybody has the right to chart their own path. Kushwaha has parted ways and returned to (Janata Dal-United) several times in the past.”

Earlier today, JDU’s state president Umesh Kushwaha criticised Upendra and asked him to step down.

In response, the JDU leader said that he is not a lightweight leader who can be easily sacked from the party.

For weeks, Kushwaha has been maintaining that the JDU is weakening due to its alliance with Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

Kushwaha merged his RLSP with the JDU in March 2021, stating that there was a need for all like-minded parties to unite to stop the BJP juggernaut.

Ahead of the 2014 polls, Kushwaha’s RLSP joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead of the 2014 general elections and won three seats. As a reward, he was made the Union minister of state for human resource development (HRD) and exited the NDA in December 2018.