JD-U will contest UP polls alone: Sharad Yadav

The Janata Dal-United will contest all 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, party chief Sharad Yadav said on Wednesday after failure of talks with National Democratic Alliance ally Bharatiya Janata Party for a tie-up.

"We will contest on all 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh and list of more candidates will be issued in coming days," Yadav told reporters after announcing the first list of 32 candidates.

He said the party's negotiations with BJP to contest the elections together in the state have failed.

"We had discussions with several top leaders in BJP like party chief Nitin Gadkari, Sanjay Joshi, Rajnath Singh but unfortunately the talks could not yield any result and they issued the list. So we have now decided to go ahead with our strategy to contest the election," he said.

On post-poll alliance with BJP, Yadav said, "Those discussions will happen in future and we will decide when it happens."

Promising to repeat the Bihar's performance, Yadav said the entire party leadership including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will join the campaign in UP.

JD-U has formed a three member team of its General Secretary K C Tyagi, Rajya Sabha member from Bihar R C P Singh and UP party chief Suresh Niranjan Bhaiya to supervise  the campaign and elections in the state.

Some of the people who have been given the ticket include farmer leader from UP Manveer Singh Teotia who shot to fame after the agitation in Bhatta-Parsaul, ex-Bahujan Samaj Party LA Brijesh Mishra. who joined JD-U recently, and former DGP and ex-Minister of the state Mahendra Singh Yadav.

eplying to a query whether the development indicates a rift between JD-U and BJP, he said, "There is no such thing. We have a nation-wide coalition and we all work on the basis of a Common Minimum Program. We don't have any complain with the BJP there."

He also attacked parties for inducting tainted leaders in their camp ahead of the elections.

"Politics should remain clean and it can't survive if tainted people are given tickets just to contest and win elections," he said, adding that the JD-U will campaign against the such candidates.

"UP has turned into a pond where the candidates are moving in all directions just like fish. Parties have closed their eyes just to win election. Elections without good ideology, discipline and clean behaviour will never be able to reform the nation," Yadav said.