Lucknow, June 30 The JD(U) is now finally and officially focusing on Uttar Pradesh for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
A clear indication of this is the massive renovation of the JD(U) office that is taking place in Lucknow.
The office had been lying in a state of neglect for the past several years.
A large group of labourers can be seen laying new tiles on the floor, removing the old paint from the wall, and putting a coat of the fresh paint on the walls of the office.
“Soon, the office will be refurbished and have new decor,” said a JD(U) leader.
The renovation work gives an indication of the emerging political scenario in Uttar Pradesh.
Speculations of an alliance between the Samajwadi Party, the JD(U), the Rashtriya Janta Dal and the Congress are also doing rounds.
The Rashtriya Lok Dal is already a part of SP alliance.
Though the JD(U) has an insignificant presence in Uttar Pradesh, the state unit office is likely to remain abuzz with activities as the Lok Sabha election draws near, especially because Nitish Kumar is playing a key role in putting up a united stand against the incumbent BJP.
Party sources said that a meeting of the district unit office bearers will be held on July 15 to discuss the strategy for the Lok Sabha polls.
The district unit leaders will give feedback on the political scenario in the various regions of the state and the plan of the party to strengthen the organisation.
Senior JD(U) leader and minister in the Bihar government, Shrawan Kumar, will also be present in the meeting, he added.
Meanwhile, the party’s state unit convenor Satyendra Patel said: “The party has started preparation for the Lok Sabha elections. As the party is playing a lead role in the opposition alliance, the cadre is motivated and soon, a series of meetings will be organised across the state to gear up the workers for the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections.”
Earlier, senior JD(U) leaders had said that Nitish Kumar might contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from a seat in eastern Uttar Pradesh -- possibly Phulpur -- to give thrust to the Opposition’s fight against the BJP.
Party leaders feel that the charisma of Nitish Kumar as well as his influence over the backward community will pay dividends in the Lok Sabha elections.
Nitish Kumar belongs to the Kurmi community whose vote is decisive over two dozen Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Backward communities -- Maurya, Kushwaha, Shakya, and Saini -- that share a caste bond with Kurmis are considered the support base of the JD(U) in Bihar.
In UP the BJP won 62 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election with mobiliaing the non-Yadav backward community.
The SP has hold over the Yadav and Muslim community.
The Apna Dal(S) led by Anupriya Patel who enjoys influence over the Kurmi community voters won two seats as alliance partner of National Democratic Alliance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
With the support of Nitish Kumar, the opposition can make inroads into the Kurmi and other non-Yadav backward caste voters, a JD (U) leader said.
--IANS
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