JD(U) to contest Uttar Pradesh polls, plans Varanasi workers' meeting
JD(U) says it will contest next year's Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, with a workers' meeting in Varanasi on October 25 and preparations to field candidates in 60 seats.
Janata Dal (United), a ruling National Democratic Alliance partner in Bihar, has said it will contest next year's Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, with the party preparing to field candidates in 60 seats, mainly in the Purvanchal region close to the Bihar border.
The party will hold a workers' meeting in Varanasi on October 25, where senior leaders from Bihar are expected to be present. Among those likely to attend are national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, Uttar Pradesh in-charge Shrawan Kumar, Nishant Kumar, son of former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, according to senior party leader and Bihar MLC Sanjay Gandhi alias Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Mr. Gandhi, described as a trusted confidant of party president Nitish Kumar who handles key organisational and coordination tasks, said the decision on contesting 60 seats in Purvanchal would rest with the NDA's top leadership given the demands of coalition politics. The party, he said, will contest seats in Uttar Pradesh that are close to the Bihar border.
Other party leaders said JD(U) would prefer to field candidates in constituencies where Other Backward Class Kurmi and Kushwaha castes have sizeable numbers. Mr. Nitish Kumar belongs to the Kurmi caste, while Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary comes from the Kushwaha caste.
JD(U)'s Uttar Pradesh spokesperson, Kunwar Ajay Singh, said party leaders would discuss ways to strengthen the organisation ahead of the elections and would look to draw on Mr. Nitish Kumar's popularity in the Purvanchal region. He said the party was scouting for alliance partners in Uttar Pradesh and that while nothing had been finalised, preparations were on to contest 60 seats.
Leaders in Bihar indicated that JD(U) has favoured an alliance with the BJP-led NDA, but that a final announcement is awaited.
In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the party contested 26 seats and won none, securing about 0.11% of the total vote share.