Unable to reconcile their conflicting claims for sharing seats, leaders of both the BJP and JD(U) threw their hands up on Wednesday and decided to go their separate ways during the Jharkhand Assembly polls.

“Our talks have failed,” JD(U) president Sharad Yadav declared, capping hectic parleys between the two sides for the last three days. As if to reinforce the point, he also released a list of 19 party nominees. The BJP had announced its candidates for 59 of the 81 seats on Tuesday night, much to the discomfort of the JD(U). Yadav was non-committal when asked if the JD(U) would issue a second list. “Let us see,” he said.

BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who was leading negotiators from the other camp, expressed “surprise” over the JD(U) decision. “I don’t know why they unilaterally decided to go it alone when we had offered them the seats which they had wanted to contest on a priority-basis,” he said.

Sources revealed the JD(U) leadership took the plunge for of two reasons — one, a compromise seemed impossible, and two, it had no time left to wait for allotting symbols to party nominees. “They have to go back and file nomination papers from November 7,” they added.

Sources in both camps disclosed that negotiators were unable to find a common meeting ground — the BJP was not prepared to go beyond its last offer of 12 seats and the JD(U) was not ready to settle for anything less than the 18 it had contested in 2005.

... contd.