PATNA: Patna: Union Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi has demanded 20 seats for his party in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, scheduled to be held later this year.
Manjhi made this statement during a meeting with party workers, a day after leaders of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) claimed they would win 225 seats in the elections.
"Though our workers have asked to contest 40 seats, we think we will contest at least 20 seats in the assembly elections. We will soon be holding a workers' meet in Patna's Gandhi Maidan where our demand will be validated," said Manjhi.
HAM is a part of the BJP-led NDA at both the state and central levels. In the 2020 assembly elections, the party had secured only four seats—Imamganj, Barachatti, Sikandra, and Tekari. Santosh Kumar Suman, son of former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, currently serves as a minister in Nitish Kumar’s cabinet.
Manjhi himself won the Gaya (reserved) constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and was inducted as Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in the Narendra Modi cabinet. Recently, HAM reclaimed the Imamganj assembly seat in a by-election held after Manjhi vacated the seat upon being elected as an MP.
Meanwhile, the ruling NDA held a joint meeting of state presidents from its coalition partners at Bagaha in West Champaran district to strategise for the assembly elections. Addressing the media after the meeting, BJP state president Dilip Kumar Jaiswal expressed confidence in the NDA's prospects.
"The NDA would win 225 seats in the assembly polls," Jaiswal said. When asked about the seat-sharing arrangement, he added, "The seat-sharing formula for the assembly election has almost been finalised at the meeting. There is no confusion on seat sharing among the coalition partners," he asserted.