Battle for UP: A lot of Bihar in Uttar Pradesh polls this time

Lucknow, Jan 11 The Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections this year will have a lot of Bihar in them.

At least four regional parties from Bihar have formally announced that they will contest the polls in Uttar Pradesh, either in alliance or on their own.

Two of these four regional parties are a part of the NDA in Bihar.

The Janata Dal (U) is all set to contest the UP polls and its leaders claim that they are in talks with the BJP for seat sharing.

The BJP, meanwhile, has not uttered a word on a possible seat sharing with JD (U) in Uttar Pradesh.

"We have our allies Apna Dal and Nishad Party with whom seat sharing is being finalised. We are not aware of any other alliance at the moment," said a senior BJP functionary.

Bihar Minister Mukesh Sahani, who heads the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), is all set to contest 165 Nishad-dominated seats in Uttar Pradesh.

The VIP is not negotiating with the BJP, which has already allied with its arch rival the Nishad Party.

The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), led by Chirag Paswan, is another Bihar party that is trying its luck in the UP elections.

The party leaders say that they will contest elections on their own and will try to field a maximum number of candidates.

Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha Secular (HAMS) is also making a debut in UP politics.

Manjhi has said that he would prefer to go solo if not given adequate seats in any alliance.

These Bihar parties may or may not win seats in the Uttar Pradesh elections since most of them lack a proper organisational base in the state but they are bound to cut into votes of major parties and could even upset the apple cart, especially in constituencies along the UP-Bihar border.

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