The Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh is now caught in a dilemma with its major ally, the Janata Dal (United), demanding its share of 50 seats for the upcoming UP Assembly elections.
The JD (U), buoyed up by its success in Bihar, has put forth a demand for 50 seats in UP and is unwilling to compromise on anything less than this.
According to a state JD(U) leader, the party’s demand for 50 seats is based on a “rational survey” and the party is capable of winning these seats.
“In Bihar we can be said to be responsible for the growing popularity graph of the BJP and we can replicate the experiment in UP also. The JD(U) is being looked upon in a new light after its stupendous performance in Bihar and is, therefore, extremely well-placed in UP,” state JD(U) president Suresh Niranjan Bhaiyya.
The UP BJP, however, see no “rationality” in the JD (U) demand. “The JD(U) does not even have an organisational structure in UP and the party has never registered its presence on the state’s political horizon. The Bihar example cannot hold water in UP and the JD(U) leaders must realise this. As allies, we can give them 4-5 seats but asking for 50 seats is a bit too much,” said a senior state BJP leader.
The state BJP feels that giving 50 seats to the JD(U) would demoralise its party cadres in all these constituencies and have far-reaching consequences. “When national parties start giving away seats to regional parties, their party organisation starts disintegrating. Look what happened to the Congress in UP? We certainly do not want the BJP to suffer a similar fate and we are going to mount pressure on the national leadership on this issue,” the senior state BJP leader added.
However, a senior office bearer of the BJP told this correspondent on phone from Delhi that the party would have to consider aspects before taking a decision on the JD(U) demand.
“The JD(U) is leading the government in Bihar and is a major partner in the NDA. We agree that the party has never won more than one seat in UP but we have other political compulsions also. We are aware of the views of the state unit over the JD(U) demand and we will see what best can be done without harming our own interests and without disturbing our relations with JD(U),” he said.