The ruling National Democratic Alliance braved ally troubles on Wednesday with the Hindustani Awam Morcha and the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) both flexing muscles and demanding a “fair share” of seats to contest the November Bihar poll.
HAM president Jitan Ram Manjhi, Union Minister and former Chief Minister of Bihar, put on the table a wish list of 15 segments as against seven given to his party in 2020.
In the last poll, the HAM had won four of the seven seats it fought.
LJP chief and Union Cabinet Minister Chirag Paswan has been sticking to his demand for 40 seats, with the BJP willing to give 25.
Chirag had gone solo in the 2020 Assembly elections, contesting 135 seats and denting NDA’s partner JD(U) in many segments.
While Manjhi today quoted national poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar to demand 15 seats as a respectable share, Chirag has called an emergency meeting of the party in Patna on Thursday.
Manjhi, citing Dinkar’s legendary poem “Rashmirathi”, where Lord Krishna is urging the Kauravas to part with five villages as a peace deal with the Pandavas, said today, “If there has to be justice, then part with half. If there is an obstacle in the way of this, then give ‘15 villages’ and retain the rest of your land. The HAM will happily partake of this share and will not raise a sword against its kin.”
HAM sources said Manjhi had taken a position that the party needed a dignified share of seats to contest and might sit out if not placated.
The sources also claimed that BJP president JP Nadda called Manjhi to discuss the issue.
Meanwhile, Chirag continues to posture for a greater share of seats. Sources in his party have thrown hints of a possible truck with Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party should the NDA partners not accommodate their seat demand well.
Chirag has been openly attacking his NDA partner JD(U) chief and CM Nitish Kumar for “deteriorating law and order”.
The BJP Bihar election committee for its part held the third meeting today to finalise panels in the seats where the party had lost in 2020.
Bihar BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal said the party had drafted panels of potential candidates to be shared with the central leadership.
The final call on candidates will be taken by the BJP central election committee, chaired by PM Narendra Modi.
In 2020, the BJP, the JD(U), the HAM and the Vikasheel Insaan Party contested under the NDA’s banner and won. The state Assembly’s broad composition is as follows — Ruling NDA: BJP 80, JD(U) 45, HAM 4; opposition grand alliance: RJD 77, Congress 19, CPI(ML) 11, and CPM and CPI two each. Both alliances continue to grapple with alliance and seat-sharing issues.
LJP emergency meet in Patna today
LJP chief Chirag has called an emergency meeting of the party in Patna on Thursday. Sources hinted at the party’s possible truck with Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party in case the seat demand is not met.
