JD(U) in MP poll race, like SP, it says talks with Cong failed

JD(U) advisor and chief spokesperson K C Tyagi said they held talks with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and its Madhya Pradesh in-charge Randeep Surjewala, but seat-sharing did not materialise. “We have an active organisation in several states, including MP. It was purely up to the Congress to accommodate us, but it did not happen.”

JD(U) MLC and national general secretary Aafaq Ahmad told The Indian Express: “We have been contesting polls in MP since 2003, with the exception of the 2018 polls. In 2003, our candidate from Katni, Bachchan Naik, had won. In 2008, his wife, Saroj Bachchan represented the same constituency.”

The JD(U) had contested around 10 seats in 2003, 2008 and 2013 as well in Madhya Pradesh. In the 2018 polls, Ahmad said, the JD(U) had opted out on the request of then ally, BJP.

The BJP had finished narrowly behind the Congress in Madhya Pradesh in 2018, and eventually toppled its government.

The JD(U) has also justified the move to contest in Madhya Pradesh, pointing out that a BJP ally Jannayak Janata Party, which is Haryana-based, is contesting polls in Rajasthan. There too, the BJP and Congress are in a headlock.

Asked about INDIA bloc constituents going their separate ways in the coming Assembly polls, Tyagi said: “One should first make it amply clear that the alliance is for the Lok Sabha polls, and one must not read too much into our ties or their absence in the Assembly polls.”

Tyagi added that parties that have risen from the social justice plank enjoy impact in some seats in MP and Chhattisgarh, and the JD(U) was well within its rights to try and expand its base beyond its parent state.

The Congress declined to comment on the JD(U) entering the race.

Currently, besides the 45 MLAs in Bihar, the JD(U) has an MLA each in Nagaland and Manipur.

The candidates announced by the JD(U) include: Sitaram Ahirwar (Nariyawali, an SC-reserved seat); Pramod Kumar Mehra (Gotegaon, also SC-reserved); Pankaj Maurya (Bahoriband); Sanjay Jain (Jabalpur North); Vijay Kumar Patle (Balaghat); Chandrapal Yadav (Pichhore); Ramkuwar Rekwar (Rajnagar); Shiv Narain Soni (Vijayraghavgarh); Tol Singh Dhuriya (Thandla); and Rameshwar Singhar (Petlawad).