Will contest alone if not given sufficient seats: JDU on UP assembly polls

Janata Dal United President Lalan Singh on Saturday said that it would contest the UP assembly elections alone if the BJP does not give it sufficient seats as an alliance partner of the NDA.

With the announcement, the JDU will be the second political party of the NDA to have decided to contest alone after the VIP. VIP chief Mukesh Sahani had announced earlier that the party would contest against the BJP. Sahani further added that the UP CM is scared of his visiting the state.

Lalan Singh also noted that the JDU had put up an impressive show in Arunachal Pradesh, where it won 7 of the 14 seats it contested in. The BJP, meanwhile, back-stabbed the JDU and merged 6 MLAs.

"We are part of NDA, and if BJP will not allocate us adequate seats in Uttar Pradesh, we will contest the election alone. The JDU supporters are showing great enthusiasm," Lalan Singh said.

"We are committed to bring JDU to the number 1 position. Our aim is to achieve results like the 2010 Bihar assembly election in 2025. Every member of the party will get their responsibility," he added. Meanwhile, Bhagwat Singh Kushwaha joined the JDU on Saturday and has been given the post of vice president of the party. Together, JDU and VIP are likely to pull some votes from the BJP.

"I am visiting every district in Bihar to strengthen the organizational structure of the party," said Upendra Kushwaha, president of the JDU parliamentary board.

"Leaders in opposition parties said that I was angry over Lalan Singh's appointment as JDU national president but they are wrong. I am not angry. I and Lalan Babu are old friends and have worked together for a long time. We are committed to expand the JDU nationwide," Kushwaha added.