JD(U) will lose all seats from Bihar in LS polls: Kejriwal on Nitish's volte-face to NDA

JD(U) will lose all seats from Bihar in LS polls: Kejriwal on Nitish’s volte-face to NDA

New Delhi, Jan 30 (PTI) Two days after Nitish Kumar’s exit from INDIA bloc, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the Janata Dal-United (JDU) will lose all Lok Sabha seats from Bihar in the upcoming general elections as people do not like such tactics, asserting that the opposition alliance is still a strong entity.

Kumar Sunday resigned as the Chief Minister of Bihar, saying “things were not working well” for him in the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ or the grand alliance and the opposition bloc INDIA, and formed a new government with the BJP.

Addressing a press conference on alleged cheating in Chandigarh mayoral polls in which the BJP registered a victory, Kejriwal said, “I feel that the BJP-led NDA is not getting a majority and the INDIA alliance is strong. You can take from me in writing that like last time if they (BJP) allow Nitish Kumar’s party to contest 17 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, they (JDU) will lose these seats after what they did in Bihar.”

“He (Nitish Kumar) has cheated the people of Bihar and BJP will face the consequences. People do not like such tactics. Fight elections with honesty and those who form the government should be allowed to run it,” he said.

The AAP chief also asked why the Centre and its probe agencies are resorting to “extreme actions” against opposition leaders if the BJP is going to win the Lok Sabha polls, likely to be held in April-May.

“After the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, they (BJP) created an atmosphere that they are getting many seats (in the Lok Sabha elections). If they are poised to win so many seats, why is the ED action required against the opposition leaders?” he asked.

“This means that they (BJP) are not going to win many seats. This means that ED action is required and they need to resort to deceitful means (‘farziwada’) and they need to break Nitish Kumar, Shiv Sena and NCP. People are fed up with them,” the AAP supremo stressed.

Besides JD (U), RJD, Congress, and Left parties were the other constituents of the now-no-more Mahagathbandhan.

Kumar’s latest crossover, his fifth in a little over a decade, is being seen as a big setback for the opposition unity ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

There are 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP and JD(U) contested 17 seats each and the Lok Janshakti Party was in the fray for six seats.

BJP and LJP emerged victorious on all the seats they contested while Nitish’s party won 16 seats out of the 17 it contested.

On Monday, Kejriwal had said Kumar did not do the right thing by exiting INDIA bloc, calling his conduct not good for democracy.

AAP is holding seat sharing talks with the Congress for several states, including Delhi, Gujarat, Goa and Haryana.

Kejriwal on Tuesday said the seat-sharing discussions between both the parties have gone well and they will come out with something soon.