Minister of State for Human Resource Development and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha has resigned from the Union Council of Ministers on Monday.

The sources said that Kushwaha, who has been at loggerheads with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the seat sharing formula in Bihar for the 2019 Lok Sabha election, will also resign from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after weeks of speculation.

Kushwaha will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. at his residence on Monday, a day ahead of the Parliament session to announce his decision.

Earlier in the day, the Minister told the media that he will not participate in the NDA meeting at Parliament House complex slated to be held at 4 p.m.

"I will not participate in the NDA meeting," he told reporters.

Kushwaha has been critical of the BJP since it announced that the saffron party and the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) would contest 17 seats each in Bihar.

Since the seat sharing announcement, Kushwaha has been critical of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

As per the tentative arrangement, the RLSP was to be given two seats, one less than the number it had contested in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

(Picture credits: Pankaj Tomar)

First Published:Dec 10, 2018 1:08 PM IST