Bihar Elections 2020: LJP Not To Fight Assembly Polls Under Nitish Kumar's Leadership; Cites "Ideological Differences" But Backs BJP

Bihar Assembly Elections 2020: Soon after a meeting held in Delhi on Sunday, the party announced that its collaboration with Nerandra Modi led BJP will continue, while it will field candidates against Nitish Kumar's JDU in the upcoming polls.

Days before the first phase of the Bihar Assembly Elections 2020, the Chirag Paswan-headed Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) on Sunday parted ways from the National Democratic Alliance in the state, saying that it will not fight the elections under the leadership of JD(U) president and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Soon after a meeting held in Delhi on Sunday, the party announced to go alone in the upcoming elections but still “support the Bharatiya Janata Party."  According to the sources, the LJP in its party meeting decided to continue its collaboration with Nerandra Modi led BJP but field candidates against Nitish Kumar's JDU in the upcoming polls. News agency ANI quoted LJP national general secretary Abdul Khaliq saying as, "Lok Janshakti Party will not contest the upcoming Bihar elections in alliance with Janata Dal (United) due to ideological differences." While BJP leaders, including its national president J P Nadda, have been insisting that all three NDA parties will fight the upcoming polls together, the LJP members in September said that the coronavirus situation in Bihar and havoc caused by floods have built a negative image of Nitish Kumar and they don't want to be a part of it. The JD(U) has also made it clear that it will not hold any seat-sharing talks with the LJP, as its ties have been traditionally with the BJP. It is pertinent to note that there is already a rift between Chirag Paswan and Nitish Kumar and both the leaders have been attacking each other in various instances.