Patna, Jan. 25: The Janata Dal United today said it will not contest the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and neither will it support any party there.
The UP elections will be held in seven phases from February 11 to March 8 and the results will be declared on March 11. "The party has decided not to contest Uttar Pradesh Assembly election to stop the division of secular votes in the state," JDU secretary general K.C. Tyagi said with Rajya Sabha member RCP Singh, water resources minister Rajiv Ranjan "Lallan" Singh and senior leader Shyam Rajak by his side.
"We are disappointed with the Samajwadi Party and the Congress that they could not form a Bihar-like Grand Alliance in the state. So to combat the communal forces in UP, the JDU has decided not to contest the election and not to support anyone there," Tyagi asserted.
The JDU had put up its candidates from 219 out of 403 seats in the UP Assembly elections of 2012 but could not win a single seat. In most of the seats, its candidates had to forfeit their security deposits.
This time around too the JDU was keen initially; Nitish had addressed over half-dozen rallies in eastern parts of UP.
"We feel sorry for our party workers who worked hard for several meetings in UP," Tyagi said when asked about those rallies.
However, JDU workers and leaders confided under cover of anonymity that chief minister Nitish Kumar took the decision of pulling out of the UP battleground after the Samajwadi Party and the Congress tied up. It is believed that Nitish, who is a very image-conscious person, did not want to be blamed for inevitable defeat if the JDU went alone - as the party has no stronghold in UP.
After the Samajwadi Party and Congress tied-up, the JDU was left with no option other than backing out as talks with smaller parties like JDS, RLD and NCP also did not work out.
The decision of not contesting the election was taken during the JDU core committee meeting on Monday at 1 Aney Marg, Nitish's official residence.
"Nitishji had tested the waters and found that the JDU will not be able to win a single seat though he addressed many rallies there," a senior JDU leader told The Telegraph under cover of anonymity. "During the Jharkhand Assembly election in 2014, the party had contested but we lost our security deposits. Fearing the same in UP, the party decided to not venture."
Nitish has no love lost for the Samajwadi Party's first family. Nitish had blamed Mulayam Singh Yadav when the six-party merger plans failed in Bihar.
Today, when asked if Nitish will campaign in UP if Akhilesh Yadav invites him, Lallan said, "No, he will not go to campaign even if Akhilesh invites him." The JDU's other Grand Alliance partner, the RJD, is supporting the Samajwadi Party and Lalu Prasad has already announced he will campaign in UP along with his younger son - and deputy CM - Tejashwi Yadav.
Earlier, RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh had said the JDU should not enter the UP poll fray as it will create confusion among the voters. Looks like Nitish has heeded his bitter critic's advice.
