By IANS,
Ranchi : The Jharkhand unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has threatened to abandon partner Janata Dal-United (JD-U) for its poor performance in the elections and declared that it would go it alone in the assembly polls.
The BJP and JD-U, key members of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), fought 12 of the 14 seats together. The BJP won eight, but the JD-U lost by massive margins both the seats of Palamau and Chatra it contested.
Enthused by the results, the BJP said it doesn’t need the JD-U anymore in Jharkhand.
“The BJP will go it alone in the assembly elections. The Lok Sabha results indicate the JD-U position in the state. We do not need the support of any political party in the state to fight elections. BJP will fight all the 81 seats of the state,” declared state BJP president Raghubar Das.
JD-U state unit president Jaleshwar Mahto responded by saying that the BJP had worked against its candidates in Palamau and Chatra.
“Let the BJP decide their future course of action. Everyone knows what BJP workers did in Palamau and Chatra. BJP should not be over confident,” he said.
“BJP accepted the JD-U’s demand and went along with the coalition dharma to concede Palamau and Chatra. What can the BJP do if the JD-U fails to perform in both seats,” countered Das.
Jharkhand has been under president’s rule since Jan 19. Assembly elections are likely to take place by the end of the year.