Amid reports of strain in ties between the BJP and its alliance partner JD(U) over the allotment of seats for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the latter's president Nitish Kumar said on Monday, 9 July, that the two parties are not working together on a national level, but only in Bihar.
Seeking to downplay the purported tensions in the relationship between the JD(U) and the BJP, Kumar said:
The JD(U) on Sunday authorised Nitish Kumar to finalise the party's stand on political issues, including the upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
It, however, called for evolving a consensus through talks with other parties, sources told PTI.
The executive also reiterated the party's opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Bill that allows Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan to be eligible for Indian citizenship after a stay of six years.
Religion cannot be a basis for citizenship, it said.
Other JD(U) leaders also sought to downplay reports of strain in ties between the two parties, asserting that the ruling alliance will fight the elections together and sweep it.
Party leaders said the issue of number of seats in Bihar it will fight in the Lok Sabha polls did not come up for discussion at the meeting, reported PTI. Kumar has been authorised to finalise its stand, they said.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI.)
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