Bihar CM Nitish Kumar with PM Narendra Modi.
JD (U) Secretary General KC Tyagi said his party’s link with the BJP predates many other alliances united by the two parties.
- News18.com
- Last update: October 5, 2020 10:44 PM IST
- FOLLOW US:
One day after Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) Chairman Chirag Paswan announced his party’s decision to go solo in the upcoming Assembly elections in Bihar, the senior leader of Janata Dal-United (JD-U ), KC Tyagi, told News18 that all speculation and rumors will settle. To rest the moment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Nitish Kumar share the stage and lead political campaigns together.
Shortly after Paswan announced his party’s decision not to pitch his party’s candidates against the BJP, but to run the LJP’s candidates against JD (U), some political analysts had wondered whether there was an unspoken understanding between the BJP and LJP to undermine the votes of JD (U).
Rumors that JD (U) is approaching his alliance partner asking him to formally distance himself from Paswan’s party at the national level have also been circulating.
Tyagi said: “There will be an automatic rift between the LJP and the BJP at the national level when Modi comes to Bihar to campaign with the prime minister on stage and stands next to him.”
“We have not sent any formal message to the BJP asking them to terminate ties with the LJP at the national level. It is up to them to decide,” added the JD (U) spokesperson.
When asked by News18 about the contests between the JD (U) and LJP candidates, Tyagi said: “When the high ranking leaders of the BJP come and campaign for the JD (U) candidates and vice versa, there will be no confusion.”
So when the LJP presents candidates against the JD (U), will it effectively be pitching candidates against the BJP as well, since they are allies? “Exactly,” Tyagi replied, adding that since the BJP’s top management had accepted Kumar as their leader and the face of the alliance in Bihar, any move against the JD (U) would also be seen as contrary to the interests of the BJP. .
“Kumar has been publicly declared the leader of the NDA in Bihar by none other than Amit Shah, Narendra Modi and JP Nadda. If a party or group of people do not agree with Kumar’s leadership, they go against the collective leadership of the BJP, “Tyagi told News18.
The general secretary of JD (U) added that the union of his party with the BJP predates many other alliances united by the two parties. “Our alliance with the BJP has been in place since Atalji’s time. George Fernandes, as coordinator, chaired the alliance that was joined in 1998,” Tyagi said.
On the other hand, he added, the JD (U) has not been in direct alliance with the LJP since 1998. “Every election we have fought since then, in 1999, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2015 we have fought the BJP and not the LJP. Yes, in the last Lok Sabha polls we were in alliance with the LJP by virtue of it being in alliance with the BJP, but that’s what the history of our political alliance says, “Tyagi said.
In an open letter to the people of the state, Chirag Paswan on Monday said that the upcoming Assembly elections against Kumar were going to be a “great turning point in Bihar’s history.”
Introducing himself as a “young Bihari”, Paswan said in his letter that the decision to fight was only made with Bihar’s pride in mind. “This is the question of life and death for 12 crore Biharis, we have no more time to lose,” Paswan said in his letter.
Meanwhile, the JD (U) -BJP combination, which has agreed to a 50-50 seat sharing agreement, is likely to announce the first batch of candidates soon.
.
