UP Polls: JDU to contest separately in UP elections for all 403 seats

NEW DELHI: With its alliance with the BJP falling apart in Uttar Pradesh, NDA constituent JD (U) on Wednesday announced that it will contest all 403 seats in the state.

"We will contest on all 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh and the list of more candidates will be issued in coming days," JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav told reporters here. The party released a list of 32 candidates.

He said the party had talks with BJP leaders, including party president Nitin Gadkari, Sanjay Joshi and Rajnath Singh, but could not arrive at any understanding on the seats. The BJP has already declared candidates for 291 seats. "Unfortunately the talks could not yield any result and they issued the list. So, we have now decided to go ahead with our strategy to contest the election," he said.

Yadav also said that all the party leaders, including Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, would participate in campaigning in the state polls. The JD(U) has formed a three-member team of its general secretary KC Tyagi, Rajya Sabha member from Bihar RCP Singh and UP party chief Suresh Niranjan Bhaiya to supervise the campaign and elections in the state. The list includes farmers' leader from UP Manveer Singh Tevatia, ex-BSP MLA Brijesh Mishra and former DGP and ex-minister of the state Mahendra Singh Yadav.

Though the JD(U) is not an influential force in the state, there is acknowledgement in the BJP that an alliance with it would have sent a positive message in the elections. The party had offered 22 seats to the party and was hopeful of reaching an understanding with the NDA constituent. However, Yadav, disappointed with a BJP leader's approach, had publicly declared that the JD (U) would go it alone as it had been humiliated.

To a question on whether the party was open to a post-poll alliance with the BJP, Yadav said a decision would be taken when the time came.

He denied that the failure of an electoral tie-up between the allies had a fallout on their relations, saying it was limited to UP. "We have a nation-wide coalition and we all work on the basis of a Common Minimum Program."