Nitish Kumar decides not be part of NDA outside Bihar; JDU to contest all upcoming Assembly polls alone

Amid the reports of rift with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over no seats in Union Cabinet berth, its ally Janata Dal United (JDU) on Sunday decided not to be a part of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) outside Bihar.

JDU decided to go alone in the upcoming Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Haryana and Delhi. (File Photo/ Getty)

Patna: Amid the reports of rift with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over no seats in Union Cabinet berth, its ally Janata Dal United (JDU) on Sunday decided not to be a part of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) outside Bihar. In its national executive meeting held at the official residence of JDU chief Nitish Kumar, the party also decided to go alone in the upcoming Assembly elections in states like Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Haryana and Delhi. The decision is being seen as Bihar Chief Minister's reply to the BJP after JDU opted out of the new government at the Centre last month, reportedly as it was offered just one seat in the Cabinet appointments. The JDU as NDA ally won as many as 16 of the 17  parliamentary seats it contested in the Lok Sabha polls in Bihar. According to news agency IANS, today's JDU meeting was chaired by Nitish Kumar and attended by party vice president Prashant Kishor, state presidents and other top leaders, including MPs and MLAs. Sources said Nitish Kumar appealed to JDU workers and leaders to strengthen the party outside Bihar and focus on its month-long drive to recruit new members. The last membership drive was held three years ago in 2016. The JDU plans to strengthen the party from the panchayat to the national level by inducting new members. Last year, the party had set a target of inducting 50 lakh new members across the country.  However, Bihar CM on several instances has denied to reports of any disaffection with its ally BJP. Recently, he asserted that JDU stayed out of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre since it felt there was no need for a "symbolic representation" in the Union cabinet. "We are fully with the Modi government. I had made it clear after returning from New Delhi (after the swearing-in). Their party (BJP) has full majority. It has received the mandate to form government on its own and is not dependent on allies. Yet they expressed the view that there should be a symbolic representation of all alliance partners. We thought it was not needed," Kumar told reporters on June 8. The Lok Sabha election results, where the BJP won 17 seats, one more than the JDU, led to speculation that the saffron party might not remain content with its status of a junior alliance partner in Bihar and demand a greater share in the assembly polls due next year.