The Janata Dal (United), which became the third largest constituent of the NDA after the Lok Sabha elections with 12 MPs, is now focusing on strengthening its presence in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls and in Jharkhand, where state elections are scheduled for later this year, to bolster the NDA alliance.

K C Tyagi, national spokesperson of JD(U), stated that the party aims to expand its footprint to provide a boost to the NDA. “We have a history of contesting elections together. In the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, BJP left two seats for us. This time, we aim to contest Assembly polls in Jharkhand, Delhi, and UP as part of the NDA,” he said.

Tyagi expressed hope that JD(U) could replicate its past support for the BJP, reminiscent of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee era. “Especially given the new socio-political dynamics in UP, we expect JD(U) to be accommodated within the NDA,” he added.

After the Lok Sabha results, JD(U) immediately began efforts on June 6, appointing Anoop Patel as the new UP president and instructing him to strengthen party organization across all districts of the state. The party has since appointed district presidents in Shahjahanpur, Badaun, Ghaziabad, Rampur, Mirzapur, Bhadohi, and Ghazipur.

This move is significant in light of NDA’s underperformance in the recent UP Lok Sabha polls, where BJP’s tally dropped from 62 seats in 2019 to 33, partly due to a shift of non-Yadav OBC votes towards the SP-Congress combine. SP emerged with its best-ever performance, winning 37 seats, while Congress improved its tally to six.

JD(U) leaders noted that a significant portion of Kurmi votes shifted from NDA to SP-Congress, suggesting that accommodating JD(U) could have improved outcomes. The party now aims to contest more than 50 seats in UP and is preparing for the upcoming Assembly bypolls.

The Katehari seat, dominated by Kurmis, is particularly sought after by JD(U), given Nitish Kumar’s Kurmi background. This community’s votes are crucial in several constituencies of eastern and central UP, where JD(U) hopes to make an impact.

In the lead-up to the Lok Sabha polls, JD(U) had expressed interest in contesting seats like Jaunpur and Phulpur in UP, but its requests were declined by BJP. Despite these challenges, JD(U) remains committed to expanding its influence and contributing to the NDA’s electoral strategy in the upcoming polls.