Fresh electoral clash is likely between Bihar’s ruling allies JD(U) and BJP after the UP Assembly polls as the regional party has decided to contest municipal corporation polls in Delhi on its own without any alliance with the national party.
An increasingly ambitious and undeterred JD(U)’s official decision to have no alliance with BJP, its junior partner in Bihar, in the MCD polls came just four days after JD(U) strongman and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar sought to woo the capital’s Bihari population at a rally. For the BJP in Bihar, still reeling under the shock of the two parties’ disagreements over seat-sharing for the Rajya Sabha earlier this week, the JD(U)’s decision has come as a bitter embarrassment.
Seeking a stronger foothold in the MCD and expecting the support of Delhi’s nearly four million Biharis on the basis of Bihar government’s performance, the JD(U) plans to contest nearly 150 of the total 272 constituencies on its own.
In the 2007 MCD polls, the JD(U) had contested in alliance with the BJP for 27 seats. JD(U) general secretary and chief spokesman Prabhat Ranjan was quoted as saying that the party had already finalised 34 candidates for the MCD polls.
Ranjan said the JD(U) was in the process of holding talks with “possible allies” like the Trinamool Congress, INLD and Poorvanchal Jan Parishad for the remaining MCD seats.
Sources in the JD(U) said the party’s seat-sharing discussions with the BJP for the MCD polls failed because the BJP did not concede the JD(U)’s demand for seats.
The ongoing Bihar centenary celebrations have also amply reflected the growing distance between the two allies. Large hoardings put up by the state government in Patna and several other states display only Nitish Kumar’s photographs.
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No nomination on sunday, SEC snubs cong, BJP
Age Correspondent
New Delhi, March 23:
The state election commission of Delhi has refused to accept nominations of candidates on Sunday. The Delhi BJP and Congress had urged the state election commission to allow filing of nominations on Sunday, as they have not yet decided their list of candidates for the civic polls.
State election commissioner Rakesh Mehta said that the schedule was finalised long time back and the parties had enough time to select candidates.
“We cannot allow the offices to open on Sunday, however, if any candidate reaches the election commission’s office by 3 pm on the last day of nomination then he will be allowed to file nomination,” he said.