Days after Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) announced that it will field candidates on all 294 Assembly seats in the upcoming Bengal elections, Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United has also made its ambitions clear. The JD-U, which is in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the neighbouring Bihar, will go solo in West Bengal.
Speaking to reporters in Kolkata on Thursday, Bablu Mahato, chairman of JD-U's election committee in West Bengal said the party will contest the state polls alone. However, Mahato didn't divulge any details regarding the number of seats the JD-U will contest on.
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Mahato said Bihar and Bengal have different political landscapes, so the party is not in favour of getting into an alliance with the BJP in the poll-bound state.
He said that Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is likely to campaign for JD-U candidates in Bengal and a detailed plan will be shared later.
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Sources said that JD-U may keep its options open till the very last minute and may even consider siding with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress depending on the seats it wins.
Assembly elections in West Bengal are due in April/May.
