Patna: The JD(U), which is an ally of the BJP in Bihar, has decided to contest the coming Assembly elections in Jharkhand on its own. Sources said the decision was taken in the presence of chief minister Nitish Kumar and other top party leaders, including poll strategist Prashant Kishor. JD(U) insiders said Nitish Kumar also asked party functionaries to expand its base in Jharkhand to gain the maximum number of seats.

“Not only Jharkhand, our party has also decided to go solo in Delhi and Haryana. The decision was taken at our national executive meeting in June. In Jharkhand, our party has decided to emerge as an alternative to the BJP-led alliance”, JD(U)’s Jharkhand state chief Salkhan Murmu told this newspaper.

Mr Murmu said JD(U) chief and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is likely to visit Ranchi and review the party’s preparations later this month. “Party workers across Jharkhand will attend the review meeting,” he said. The JD(U)’s decision may not go down well with the BJP, which is trying to retain power in Jharkhand. Assembly elections in the state are due in November-December this year. The BJP, in alliance with the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), won 42 seats (BJP 37 and AJSU 5) in the 2014 Assembly elections. In February 2015, six Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) members joined the BJP and its strength went up to 48.

Political analysts feel the JD(U)’s decision to go solo outside Bihar may add to the tension between the two NDA partners. This also comes in the backdrop of the Assembly polls in Bihar,  likely to take place in 2020.

While JD(U) leaders said “there is no trouble in the NDA in Bihar”, and that “the government is running smoothly”, some feel that the ruling party’s move to contest elections in other states on its own indicates the growing divide between the two partners.

Observers here say “the decision may create some tension between both partners, especially for the BJP, which lost the Bihar Assembly elections in 2015 and is keen to return to power in the state”.