Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar arrives in Patna on Monday to attend the party?s national convention that begins at Pawapuri on Tuesday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Oct. 25: The Janata Dal-United has chosen the ?sinless city? of Pawapuri, where Lord Mahavira attained salvation circa 500 BC, to discuss for three days, beginning tomorrow, the state and strategy of the party in the light of the Assembly elections due early next year.

The party officially described the meeting ? to be attended by George Fernandes, Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav ? as a convention of ?senior? JD-U workers. But sources said the crucial issue of what the party gained by joining hands with the BJP is likely to be the ?hottest? topic of debate.

So far, Fernandes and Kumar have steadfastly held that delinking the JD-U?s ties with the BJP was out of the question. ?But a sizeable section of the party wants the leaders to weigh the option of snapping ties with the BJP in the light of the Assembly polls. We did not perform well in the Lok Sabha elections as a part of the NDA. Our relations with the BJP in Jharkhand have reached a point of no return,? the sources stressed.

The JD-U would like to consolidate the anti-RJD votes to put up a credible challenge in the state. ?Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan has refused to join any anti-Laloo Prasad Yadav combination of which the BJP is a part. We need to examine the pros and cons of continuing our relationship with the BJP. The most important task is to end the 15-year misrule of the Laloo-Rabri Devi regime in Bihar,? they added.

A senior leader said that at the party?s Delhi national executive, the issue of the JD-U?s relations had come up.

?It was then decided that the party ranks should have patience till the right moment for discussing the matter came up. There cannot be a more opportune moment than the Pawapuri meeting for taking up the issue. Elections are knocking at the door,? he added.

The section that wants to go along with the BJP argues that the party would gain little by walking out of the NDA. ?Any such decision will only end up further dividing the anti-RJD votes. Paswan?s claim of being a formidable force, among the Dalit and backward sections, is still to be tested. We have to judge what is a better option,? a leader of the pro-BJP group said.

?Paswan has been urging the Congress to snap ties with the RJD and join hands with the LJP. As things stand, senior leaders like Fernandes, Kumar and Sharad Yadav would find it nearly impossible to be part of a coalition that includes the Congress. The best course would be that we fight the Assembly elections along with the BJP. The NDA?s poor performance was a countrywide phenomenon and much should not be read into it,? he added.

But the JD-U?s own assessment after the Lok Sabha results had indicated that their alliance with the BJP in Bihar did not yield good results. The party?s state leadership had then described the ?alliance? as open to a ruthless review.

The NDA had not appeared as a united force on the ground during the election campaign, although top leaders from both sides had fought hard against any such perception.