The ruling alliance partners in Bihar — Janata Dal (United) and BJP — are seemingly caught in a strange situation over the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, voting for which is scheduled on February 8.
I-PAC and AAP
The JD(U) has announced to contest poll in Delhi while its national vice-president Prashant Kishor’s political consultancy firm I-PAC has been repoed in by AAP.
The Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal, though, has taken a swipe over JD(U) and Mr. Kishor’s “fixed match to defeat BJP in Delhi elections”. However, JD(U) leader and Information and Public Relation Department Minister Neeraj Kumar said: “We don’t care who says and does what but for us, the party has always been bigger and important than an individual.”
The third NDA partner in Bihar — Lok Janshakti Party — too is likely to throw its ring in Delhi poll. However, JD(U) and LJPare yet to announce how many seats they would contest in the poll. In the recently concluded Jharkhand Assembly elections, JD(U) and LJP had contested separately but failed to win even a single seat. “It is strange that JD(U) is contesting Delhi Assembly poll against BJP and AAP but its own national vice-president is working hard for AAP to win the poll…I think, both JD(U) and Mr. Kishor are playing a fixed match to defeat BJP”, senior RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari told The Hindu . He added that it was quite obvious JD(U) would cut into the vote bank of who else but the BJP.
However, the BJP leader and party MLC Sanjay Paswan said: “Mr. Kishor has no knowledge about politics...he is only a poll manager of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.” Mr. Paswanhas been reiterating that “this time people of Bihar want a BJP CM” which on Thursday had prompted JD(U) to tell alliance partner BJP to “rein in party’s motor mouth leaders”. Meanwhile, former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) too is said to be mulling over contesting Delhi elections. Mr. Manjhi could announce the number of seats, the party would contest in the next 3-4 days, said sources. “We have identified 10-15 seats but it will be decided and announced by our party chief soon,” said a party leader preferring anonymity.
