The BJP’s allies from the Hindi heartland are trying to expand their foothold beyond their respective states. They are open to an alliance with the BJP, but if it doesn’t agree to their plans they are ready to venture out on their own, said the JDU, LJP (R) and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP).
The JDU, the second largest BJP ally by numbers in the Lok Sabha, is all set to contest the Jharkhand assembly polls in alliance with the BJP. The JD (U) contests elections in the Northeast and regularly holds party national executive meetings in Delhi to send out a message about its willingness to expand its base.
“Our party’s working president, Sanjay Jha, is in talks with the BJP over seat-sharing and a decision will be taken soon. In the past too, we had our MLAs in Jharkhand due to a voter base,” Ashok Choudhary, Bihar minister and the JD (U)’s in-charge of Jharkhand, told ET. “There are 22% Kurmi votes and 10% Bihari votes where our party leader Nitish Kumar has direct influence.’
Though he did not talk about the number of seats, people with knowledge of the matter said the JD (U) might contest around 10 seats in Jharkhand. Jamshedpur East Independent MLA Saryu Roy, who defeated former chief minister Raghubar Das and is in the JD (U) now, has said that he will contest the seat as the NDA candidate. Roy has also extended an offer to former CM Champai Soren to join the JD (U).
Choudhary said JD (U) leader Nitish Kumar will also campaign for the party in Jharkhand.
The LJP (R) is another BJP ally from Bihar eyeing to contest the Jharkhand assembly polls. It is holding its national executive meeting in Ranchi on Sunday, where Chirag Paswan is set to be re-elected as the party’s national president.
“We are looking at the possibility of contesting the Jharkhand assembly election and a decision will be taken on Sunday. This is one of the reasons we are having our national executive meeting here. The party has a support base and there are youths who like Chirag Paswan as their leader,” Dhirendra Kumar Munna, national spokesperson, LJP, told ET.
On August 21-22, the SBSP, under the leadership of UP state minister Om Prakash Rajbhar, for the first time held its first national convention outside Uttar Pradesh, in Mumbai. During the two day convention the party decided to contest assembly polls in Maharashtra and pitch for north Indian votes in the state.
