BJP agrees to give 2 seats to JD(U), one to LJP for Delhi elections

The BJP has agreed to a seat-sharing deal with the Janata Dal (United) (JDU) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) ahead of the Delhi assembly elections, scheduled to be held on February 8.

However, reports suggest the saffron party will not fight the elections in alliance with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janata Party (JJP).

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari on Monday (January 20) said the party has decided to give three seats to the allies. “JD(U) will contest on two seats and LJP on one seat,” he said.

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The party has already released the first list of 57 candidates for the elections to the 70-member assembly. It will soon release the candidates’ names for the remaining 10 seats, Tiwari said.

A Hindustan Times report claims a senior SAD leader has confirmed the BJP will not form an alliance with their party. It quoted SAD’s Delhi leader MS Sirsa as saying the BJP was the senior partner and that his party will have to go by their wishes.

The report quoted another leader as saying that the decision has been conveyed to the Akali leadership.

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However, it is still not clear whether the decision was okayed by the BJP’s top leadership. News reports suggest the call was taken by the election team in Delhi, led by Union minister Prakash Javadekar, and party leaders, Shyam Jaju and Tarun Chugh.

Meanwhile, the report also said the JJP, which is in alliance with the BJP in Haryana, will also not be fighting the elections together.