Poll clouds gathering, JDU looks for strategies, allies

The party feels the Congress’s coalition management is poor, and that it first takes a unilateral decision and then expects its allies to come on board. The India-US nuclear deal, it was felt, was one such case where the Congress failed to consult the Left parties beforehand. There is no inclination to share power at a wider level, leading to frequent complaints from its allies like the NCP that the Congress makes appointments to gubernatorial and other important posts without accommodating its coalition partners. “We would appeal to people to vote for the tested coalition, the NDA,” the sources said.

Like any other party, the JD(U) is desperate to spread its wings. While a seat-sharing arrangement with the BJP in Bihar and possibly Jharkhand and UP is considered inevitable, other states pose a problem. “Our first preference all over the country would be the BJP, but we can align with any party other than the Congress, wherever we are not accommodated by the dominant NDA partner,” the sources said.

In Karnataka, the JD(U) would seek an adjustment with either the BJP or JD(S) led by H D Deve Gowda or both. The party fought 25 seats in the last Assembly polls in alliance with the BJP and won five. The JD(U) also has three members in the Legislative Council, including Basvaraj Bommai, son of S R Bommai.

The JD(U) accounts for two MLAs in Gujarat. With the BJP appearing disinterested in any seat-sharing arrangement, the party may team up with the NCP there.

Rajasthan has seen an interesting turn of events. The BJP recently weaned away state JD(U) president Gopal Pacherwal to its side. There is a suspicion in the JD(U) that Pacherwal has been inspired to switch sides by his long-time patron George Fernandes. Given the unusual warmth with which Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has welcomed Pacherwal into the party, he is likely to get an important assignment. The JD(U) has chosen to overlook this blatant poaching for the sake of overall goodwill between the two parties.

The other potential partners the JD(U) is eyeing are Asom Gana Parishad (Assam), Manipur People Party of O Joy Singh in Manipur and Nagaland People’s Alliance led by N Rio in Nagaland.