‘Won’t contest election if…': Jitan Manjhi demands 15 seats for party amid NDA seat-sharing talks

HT reported earlier, citing JD(U) leaders aware of the details, that the BJP has kept 22 seats for LJP, eight seats are likely to go to HAM, and four to RLM.

Amid the ongoing seat-sharing talks in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Wednesday suggested that he would like his party Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) to contest at least 15 seats out of the 243-seat assembly in the Bihar election.

Jitan Ram Manjhi has been demanding at least 15 seats for his HAM party, saying that they must win at least eight to get 'recognised' status from the EC.(ANI)

Manjhi, whose party is in alliance with the NDA in Bihar and at the centre, said if his party do not get the proposed number of seats, he will not contest the election.

“We are praying to NDA leaders because we feel humiliated. We need a respectable number of seats so that we get recognition as a party. If we do not get the proposed number of seats, we will not contest the election. We will support NDA, but we won't contest the election,” Manjhi said, according to NDTV.

He added that he didn't want to become a chief minister, but wanted his party to get recognised.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA in Bihar includes chief minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Manjhi's HAM, and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha.

Manjhi earlier in the day took to X and posted six lines in Hindi, which were seemingly inspired by a famous passage in Ramdhari Singh Dinkar's war poem, "Rashmirathi".

In that poem, Lord Krishna was trying to broker peace with Duryodhana, whose stubbornness resulted in the epic battle of the Mahabharata.

"If there is justice, then give half; If there is any obstacle in that; Then give only 15 grams; Keep your entire land; WE (HAM) will happily eat that; And not raise a sword against kin," Manjhi's X post read.

The HAM chief has been demanding at least 15 seats for his party, saying that they must win at least eight seats in the polls to get the 'recognised' status from the Election Commission, which has eluded the outfit despite ten years of inception.

In the last election, Manjhi's party was allotted seven seats and won four. The final seat-sharing announcement of the NDA for the Bihar polls will take another two to three days, HT reported earlier.

Following an alliance meeting in Patna on Sunday, another meeting with the leaders was held in Delhi on Tuesday afternoon to understand Chirag Paswan's demands.

LJP(RV) leaders familiar with the meeting indicated that Paswan's party is aiming to contest 45 to 54 seats in the Bihar assembly election, whereas the BJP is willing to give only 20-25 seats.

Chirag Paswan reportedly demanded that his party be allocated at least two Assembly seats in each of the five Lok Sabha constituencies it won. He was assured by the BJP leaders that his demands would be discussed at the party level and a response would be given soon.

Another meeting between the BJP's top brass and Chirag Paswan is likely to be held in the coming days, where the seat-sharing agreement would be finalised.

Meanwhile, Chirag Paswan on Wednesday told reporters in Bihar that seat-sharing discussions are "going well", adding that the right decision will be taken at the right time.

"I want to clearly state one thing that the discussions are going well and I believe that the right decision will be taken at the right time... As soon as the discussion is completed, it will be shared with you," he said.

"Chirag Paswan only demands one thing that is to make Bihar first and Biharis first. Chirag's demand is neither regarding any post, nor regarding any anger towards anyone, nor regarding anyone's seats," the LJP chief added.

HT reported last week that the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) could contest on 102 seats, while the BJP might contest on 101 seats.

A "courtesy call" meeting was held last Sunday between BJP's Bihar election-in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar.

At the time, JD(U) leaders, aware of the details, said that Nitish's party will contest 102 seats and the BJP will take on 101, while the NDA has kept 22 seats for Chirag Paswan's LJP(RV), and eight seats are likely to be given to Manjhi's HAM, while four to Kushwaha's RLM.

Bihar's 243 assembly constituencies will go to the polls in two phases, on November 6 and 11. The result will be announced on November 14.

In the outgoing state government, the NDA holds 131 seats, of which the BJP holds 80, JD(U) 45, HAM(S) 4, and two Independents. Meanwhile, the Mahagathbandhan has 111 seats, of which RJD has 77, Congress 19, CPI(ML) 11, CPI(M) 2 and CPI 2.