Stories
Nishant Kumar in Varanasi: Will he contest with BJP or follow Nitish's path?
- •Nishant Kumar, son of former Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, is touring Uttar Pradesh, aiming to strengthen JDU outside Bihar.
- •JDU will strongly contend in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, as indicated by Nishant Kumar in Varanasi.
- •Nishant Kumar confirmed that JDU will contest elections in UP as part of the NDA alliance with BJP, similar to Bihar.
- •JDU is targeting Purvanchal seats with significant Kurmi, Patel, and other backward class influence.
- •JDU's performance in the 2017 and 2022 UP assembly elections was disappointing, failing to win any seats.
Key Questions Answered
Nishant Kumar announced that the JDU will no longer remain a spectator and will strongly contend in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections as part of the NDA alliance with the BJP. The party plans to contest on 10 to 15 influential seats in the Purvanchal region where Kurmi and Patel voters have significant influence.
The JDU's performance in past UP elections was disappointing, failing to win a single seat in both 2017 and 2022. In 2017, an alliance with the BJP could not be formed and the party played an indirect role, while in 2022, contesting alone across 26 seats resulted in losing deposits and gaining only about 0.11% of the total vote share.
The Purvanchal region is socially and strategically contiguous to Bihar's borders and features a substantial population of Kurmi, Patel, and other backward classes who form a core support base. JDU aims to target seats in this region alongside NDA allies like the BJP and Apna Dal (S) to prevent the fragmentation of OBC votes.
