Nitish Kumar throws his hat in the ring for Assam & Bengal

The ruling party JD(U) and the BJP may be allies in Bihar, but in poll-bound Assam and West Bengal, they will be foes contesting against each other.

Reiterating that their alliance was limited only to Bihar, the JD(U) has fielded 37 candidates in Assam and 50 in West Bengal.

Of the 37 seats where the JD(U) has thrown its hat in the Assam ring, 13 were won by the BJP during the 2016 Assembly polls. JD(U) national general secretary Sanjay Verma said that the party was contesting six seats in the first phase (March 27), nine seats in the second phase (April 1) and 22 seats in the third phase of polls (April 6) in Assam. Most of the constituencies, where the JD(U) is in the fray, are those where there is large number of people originating from Bihar.

Like, for example, in Tinsukia, the JD(U) has fielded Alok Ray. Incidentally, he will be pitted against the JD(U)’s main rival in Bihar - the RJD – which has fielded Hira Devi.

Born and brought up in Bhagalpur (Bihar), Hira Devi shifted to Assam in 1984 after her marriage. Devi is the combined Opposition candidate in Tinsukia representing the RJD, which is contesting on only one seat as an ally of the Congress-led alliance in Assam.

Similarly, the JD(U) is contesting 50 seats in West Bengal. Though nomination papers of four of its candidates were rejected, the move has not dampened the party’s spirits. “We are not only expanding our base. We will make our presence felt in the neighbouring West Bengal,” said senior JD(U) MLC, Ghulam Rasool Baliyavi, who is camping in Bengal.