Cong should clear stand on 'corrupt' RJD first: JD(U) on joining grand alliance

Mumbai: Amid speculations that the Janata Dal (United) may join the grand alliance, party leader K C Tyagi on Sunday said that any decision over the issue will only be taken after the Congress makes it stand clear on the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

“Until and unless Congress clears its stand on a corrupt party like RJD, we don't know how to communicate with them any further,” Tyagi said after the party’s executive meeting in Patna.

Tyagi further announced the party’s decision to contest upcoming elections in four states alone.

“Janata Dal (United) will contest the election on its own in selected seats in Manipur, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh,” Tyagi said adding, “Some media reports say we are helping BJP but we are neither supporting them nor opposing them, we are not helping them.”

The JD(U), an ally of the NDA, is reportedly disappointed by the BJP’s attitude towards the party since JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar formed an alliance in July 2017 after breaking ties with the Congress and the RJD.

During the executive meet, the party also authorised its president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to finalise the JD(U)'s stand on political issues, including the upcoming assembly and Lok Sabha polls.

Read: JD(U) authorises Nitish Kumar to finalise party stand on political issues

“In the light of 2019 election, all the power has been given to the National President to take political decisions. It was also decided how will we go about in the upcoming election,” JD(U) General Secretary Sanjay Jha told news agency ANI.

Meanwhile, JD(U) leaders also sought to play down reports of strain in its ties with the BJP over the allotment of seats among the NDA parties for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The leaders asserted that the ruling alliance will fight the election together and sweep it. "It will be decided later as to which party will contest how many seats. The NDA will fight the elections together and sweep the state,” Jha told reporters.

Seat sharing is likely to be a contentious issue between the JD(U) and the BJP.

Several reports have said that the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) will take a final call on seat sharing in the state for 2019 general elections after seeing what the BJP has to offer.

Ahead of the national executive meet, K C Tyagi had said that the party would be "a big brother in seat sharing for 2019 polls in Bihar".

Read: JD(U) will play ‘big brother’ in Bihar in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, says KC Tyagi

The party’s national executive at its meeting, attended by its top leaders including Kumar, also favoured simultaneous polls, a proposal being backed strongly by the Modi government.

(With PTI inputs)