JD(U) to contest minus BJP in 4 upcoming assembly polls

New Delhi, July 8: The national executive meeting of the JD(U) was held in New Delhi on Sunday during which discussions on 2019 General elections and upcoming assembly elections in several states were held.

After the meeting, senior JD (U) leader KC Tyagi said that the party would contest upcoming elections in Manipur, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on its own.

"Some media reports say we are helping BJP but we are neither supporting them nor opposing them, we are not helping them," said Tyagi.

This assumes significance amid reports that keen on expanding the party beyond Bihar. There were also reports that all is not well in the JD (U)-BJP alliance.

On the issue of One Nation One Election, Tyagi said, "We are in the favour of simultaneous elections but we don't think it is easy to be conducted. However, we cannot oppose it as it is a step towards less expensive election, curbing black money and better governance."

JD (U)'s national executive took place at a time when the party is bargaining hard with its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner, the BJP for a respectable share of seats in Bihar.

"We have not been offered anything on seat sharing from the BJP yet," Tyagi said, as per News 18.

The BJP had won 22 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and its allies, Ram Vilas Paswan-led LJP and Upendra Kushwaha-led RLSP had six and three respectively. The JD(U) had won only two seats. But JD(U) has been demanding a larger share of seats given its strength in the state assembly.

JD(U) General Secretary Sanjay Jha said that all decisions regarding 2019 general elections would be taken by Nitish Kumar.

"In the light of 2019 election all the power has been given to the National President to take political decisions. It was also decided how will we go about in the upcoming election," he said.