LUCKNOW: The Janata Dal (United) leadership's subtle indication about Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's likely chances of contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha election from a seat in eastern UP a couple of days ago has triggered speculation about a possible JD(U)-Samajwadi Party alliance in the state in the days to come.
According to the UP Janata Dal (U) chief Anoop Singh Patel, the first indication of the possible tie-up between his party and SP came to the fore when Nitish Kumar met SP chief Akhilesh Yadav in New Delhi on September 6 to discuss formation of a grand opposition alliance in a bid to defeat the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
As per JD(U) sources, the party's state leadership had sent a proposal to the national leadership to consider fielding the Bihar CM either from Phulpur, Mirzapur or Ambedkar Nagar, the Lok Sabha seats with a respectable presence of OBC voters.
Currently, while Phulpur is with the BJP, Mirzapur is represented by Apna Dal (S) chief Anupriya Patel and Ambedkarnagar seat is in the BSP's kitty with Ritesh Pandey representing it in Lok Sabha.
Significantly, after snapping ties with the BJP, the JD(U) has launched a membership drive in UP to expand its footprints in the state where it has nominal presence. However, the state unit of the party feels that the charisma of Nitish Kumar will do wonders this time in influencing the OBC voters.
Nitish Kumar himself comes from Kurmi community which has a decisive vote bank in certain pockets of eastern UP. The party, after sealing the possible alliance with SP, may field its candidates in 2024 poll mainly in eastern UP, which shares the border with Bihar.
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There are question marks over Nitish's support base in Bihar however.
OBC groups like Mauryas, Kushwahas, Shakyas and Sainis help add heft to the JD (U) support base in Bihar. "However, in UP, all these communities have drifted towards the ruling BJP during the last eight years," feels Prof AK Mishra of the Political Science department of Lucknow University.
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP had won 62 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election braving the grand alliance between arch rivals SP and BSP. Th ruling party has raised its tally to 64 by making inroads into two SP bastionss -- Azamgarh and Rampur.
Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said the SP chief Akhilesh Yadav will take the decision on any alliance with the JD (U) in Uttar Pradesh.
UP deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya, a prominent OBC face of the BJP, meanwhile, feels Nitish Kumar hardly stands any chance in UP. He says that after breaking alliance with the BJP, the JD (U) is struggling to keep its support base intact in Bihar.
People of Uttar Pradesh will again support the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election to make Narendra Modi Prime Minister for the third consecutive term, Maurya insisted.
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