PATNA, June 9 -- After his son, panchayati raj minister Deepak Prakash, couldn't get nomination for the Bihar Legislative Council polls, Rashtriya Lok Morcha's national president and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha played down any rift within the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and said that the matter (his son's MLC nomination) was over. The RLM leader said that his party is firmly within the NDA. "The matter is over. He (son Deepak Prakash) will remain minister as long as the NDA leaders desired. There is no anger and we will remain with the NDA," said Kushwaha. On Monday, all nine NDA candidates filed their papers and they all are likely to be elected. He added that membership to a House "would be arranged when necessary", and suggested that the question of why they did not receive a seat should be directed to the relevant decision-makers. Prakash who became a minister without holding a seat in either House is required to secure membership of a House within six months, yet the NDA has not fielded him as a candidate. This has put his ministerial position at risk. There is also buzz in political circles that if a solution is not found on time, Prakash may also quit as minister on moral grounds. Even though the minister has not commented on any such possibility and neither the RLM had clarified on this. RLM MLA Madhav Anand also dismissed speculations regarding any internal differences within the NDA, asserting that the alliance remains united. "We were, are, and will remain part of the NDA; there is absolutely no lack of unity within the NDA family," he said, emphasising the cohesion of the alliance. The RLM leader also addressed the absence of party national president Upendra Kushwaha during the recent event, urging people not to draw incorrect conclusions from it. "Upendra Kushwaha is the national president of our party and has a busy schedule; his absence should not be interpreted in any other way. I belong to the same party and am the leader of the legislative party; we were present there. The nominations were filed in everyone's presence," he stated. Anand further expressed confidence in the NDA's prospects in the upcoming Bihar Legislative Council elections. "Candidates from all the constituent parties of the NDA have filed their nominations, and we are confident that they will all be elected unopposed. The NDA will become even stronger after this," he added. NDA sources said that there had been ongoing speculation in political circles that the BJP has conveyed a clear message to Upendra Kushwaha to merge his party. However, a few days back, Kushwaha during his party meeting openly stated that he could not accept the party ceasing to exist just for the sake of a single post. He said no power in the world could do such a thing and stated that his party's ideology did not align with the saffron party. He, however, clarified in the meeting that RLM was a strong ally of NDA. "In a democracy, alliances are necessary to bring people together on a common platform despite differing ideologies. RLM is a strong ally in the NDA. The unity among all allies is crucial for saving Bihar and upholding the ideology of social justice," he said....