The JD(U) has decided to back BJP candidates for the Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh despite strains in the ties between the two parties in various states. The JD(U) decision follows a meeting between BJP president Rajnath Singh and JD(U) president Sharad Yadav on Monday.The JD(U) has five MLAs in Jharkhand and one in Madhya Pradesh. Sources in the JD(U) told The Indian Express that the lone party MLA in MP would vote for the BJP. They said a Gondwana Ganatantra Party MLA has assured him that he would abstain from voting. In MP, the BJP is facing a tough time ensuring the victory of its third candidate Raghunandan Sharma, who is short of at least half-a-dozen first preference votes. In Jharkhand, the BJP should win one of the two seats provided all party votes combined with JD(U) remain intact.The relations between the NDA partners have soured following the poaching of the JD(U) flock by the BJP in Karnataka.
