UP Elections: BJP, Apna Dal and Nishad Party jointly contest 403 seats: BJP chief JP Nadda

New Delhi, Jan 19: BJP National President JP Nadda on Wednesday announced that the saffron party, Apna Dal and Nishad Party will jointly contest polls on all 403 seats in forthcoming Uttar Pradesh elections.

"NDA allies are contesting together just like we did in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. BJP, Apna Dal and Nishad Party will jointly contest polls on 403 seats in upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly Polls. We have had a detailed discussion with both of the parties in the past few days," news agency ANI quoted Nadda as saying after the NDA Uttar Pradesh unit meeting.

Nishad Party will contest 15 assembly constituencies as per the party president Sanjay Nishad.

"We have got 15 seats (out of 403 seats) to contest in alliance with the BJP. The seats are almost final. Most of the seats are in 'Purvanchal' (East UP) and some are in 'Paschimanchal' (West)," Nishad said on Sunday.

"There are some seats which we want to change due to changing equations. We are focusing not only on seat but 'jeet' (victory)," he added.

In 2017, it had contested over 100 seats in alliance with Peace Party of India, and the Jan Adhikar Party, but had won only one seat - Gyanpur in Bhadohi district.

Whereas Apna Dal had won nine seats of the 12 seats it had got as part of a seat-sharing agreement with the BJP in 2017.

The assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases between February 10 and March 7 and the results will be announced on March 10.

Meanwhile, SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav has joined the BJP on Monday. "She (Aparna Yadav) liked BJP's 'double engine work' and PM Modi's vision. We welcome her in the the party," UP CM Yogi Adityanath said over her joining the saffron party.