Bihar Elections 2025: ‘Ready to settle for 15’ Assembly seats, says Jitan Ram Manjhi

Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said on Wednesday (October 8) that he would have liked his four Hindustani Awam Morcha MLAs to contest from “half” of the 243 assembly constituencies in Bihar, but was ready to “settle for 15” seats to avoid fighting against the NDA partners.

The former Bihar chief minister posted a message on his handle

“Ho Nyay Aagar To Aadha Do (Give us half the pie if you want to do justice),” Manjhi wrote, apparently addressing the BJP, three days after senior leaders Dharmendra Pradhan and Vinod Tawde visited his house here, naturally, to discuss seat-sharing.

Manjhi added: “Par usme bhi yadi badha ho, to de do keval 15 grams, rakho apni dharti tamam (if you can’t do without a fair share, give us 15 villages – a metaphor for sieges – and keep the rest for yourself).”

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“HAM (the party acronym used as a play on words for us) Khushi se khaayenge, parijan pe asi na uthayenge (We will be content with so much and not take up arms against our loved ones).”

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Manjhi notably demanded at least 15 seats for HAM, calling for his party to win at least eight to obtain “recognized” status from the Election Commission, which has eluded it even after 10 years of creation.

The BJP-led NDA in Bihar includes Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), which Manjhi had split in 2015 to launch HAM and which could take the lion’s share. The NDA’s other partners in the state are Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha.