BJP leaves 2 Delhi seats for Bihar allies, no luck for Shinde Sena

Later in the evening, BJP national general secretary Arun Singh said in an official statement that the party was leaving two seats for its allies. “As a part of the seat-sharing agreement, the JD(U) will contest the Burari seat while the LJP(RV) will contest Deoli,” the statement read.

While the JD(U) has announced Shailendra Kumar as its candidate from Burari, the LJP (RV) is likely to field a candidate from Deoli. “Principally, we all agreed to defeat the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) together. Now that the seat-sharing deal has been reached, we are hitting the ground with full strength,” JD(U) spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said.

Sources within the NDA confirmed that the JD(U) and LJP (RV) will contest the polls on their respective symbols of “arrow” and “helicopter”.

Sources said that another NDA ally, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, also wanted a seat and was in discussions, but could not make the cut while another NDA constituent from Maharashtra, the NCP led by Ajit Pawar, has fielded 11 candidates.

In case of the Bihar parties, the BJP was more willing to accommodate given that the state will see Assembly polls later this year.

Asked if the party felt slighted given that it had contested two seats in the 2020 Delhi Assembly polls, Prasad said: “It is not important how many seats we contest. What is important is that we fight together and show a model of better governance to the people of Delhi.”

Five years ago, apart from Burari, the JD(U) had contested from another Purvanchali-dominated constituency, Sangam Vihar.

At the time, Burari also had a candidate from Jayant Chaudhary’s Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which is an NDA ally now.

The LJP (then united) had fielded candidates from Kirari, Bijwasan, Laxmi Nagar, Seemapuri and Mustafabad.

BJP sources said the JD(U) was initially keen on three seats, with the RLD too interested in contesting.

As things stand, a BJP leader said, six Purvanchali candidates would now contest under the NDA umbrella, including the BJP’s four, and one each of the JD(U) and LJP (RV). The LJP (RV)’s pick is likely to be from the Paswan community, the leader said.

Prasad said the JD(U) would use the elections to showcase development work by the NDA in Bihar. “We are a NDA constituent and the Bihar model would be a part of the electoral discourse, as to how the alliance has developed the state. Wherever it has been in power, the NDA has ushered in development. That is what will happen in Delhi as well,” Prasad said.

The LJP (RV) too expressed satisfaction at the seat-sharing. “We are happy that the BJP has accorded the same respect to us as the JD(U). We are going to contest as a united force,” party spokesperson A K Vajpayee told The Indian Express.

A BJP leader said that the ticket distribution proved the detractors who claim that the BJP uses parties as vote cutters wrong. “Our party will throw its weight behind the JD(U) and LJP (RV) on their respective seats, as much as they will do so for our candidates in their seats,” the leader said.