JD(U) will not be part of NDA outside Bihar: K C Tyagi
Patna, Jun 9: The Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) Sunday announced that it will not be a part of the BJP-led NDA outside Bihar and will contest the upcoming assembly polls in four states on its own.
The decision has been taken in order to expand the presence of the JD(U) and to attain the status of a national recognised party by 2020, party's chief general secretary K C Tyagi said.
He was speaking to reporters here after the JD(U)'s national executive meeting, which was chaired by Kumar.
"The JD(U) is not a part of the NDA outside Bihar. We will fight (the upcoming) assembly elections in four states on our own strength," said Tyagi, flanked by party general secretaries Pavan Verma and Sanjay Jha.
"We want to make the JD(U) a national party. The JD(U) is a recognised party in Bihar and Arunachal Pradesh," he said.
"We will fight elections in four states of Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir with all our strength and might. And it will be our endeavour to achieve the status of a national party by 2020," he added.
The JD(U), however, is very much a part of the National Democratic Alliance at the Centre and will contest the Bihar Assembly elections in 2020 under the NDA banner, Tyagi said.
The national executive meeting of the JD(U) was attended by several senior party leaders, including vice president Prashant Kishor, Ram Chandra Prasad Singh and Bihar unit chief Bashishtha Narayan Singh.
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Had a very good conversation with friend Modi: Trump
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Friday said he had a "very good conversation" with his "friend" Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He was referring to the talks the two leaders had on Tuesday.
"I had a very good talk with him, and he's a friend of mine from India, and he's doing great. We had a very good conversation," Trump told reporters here as he headed to Las Vegas to address a roundtable on tax cuts.
Trump had called Modi on Tuesday to discuss the bilateral relationship and share perspectives on the situation in West Asia, where the US and Israel have launched a war on Iran.
The US and Iran declared a two-week ceasefire on April 7. They engaged in peace talks with Washington, insisting that Tehran give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons and uranium enrichment.
The war with Iran has sent gas prices soaring as Tehran blocked the sea lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow gateway for a fifth of global oil supplies.
During the Trump-Modi phone call on Tuesday, the two leaders stressed the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and secure.
According to the US Ambassador to India Sergei Gor, the 40-minute conversation ended with Trump telling Modi, "we all love you".
Tuesday's phone call was the second between the two leaders since the US-Israel war with Iran began on February 28.
