• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

Bihar Elections 2025: Tension appears to be unfolding within the NDA alliance ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, with the ally Jitan Ram Manjhi issuing a clear warning. The former Chief Minister has declared that his party, Hindustan Awam Morcha, will not contest elections if it is not allocated 15 seats.

However, Manjhi has reaffirmed that it would stay with the NDA camp. In response, BJP President JP Nadda has reportedly reached out to him in an attempt to pacify them.

ALSO READ: Bihar Election 2025: PM Modi, Shah To Hold Rallies Post-Diwali; BJP's Election Committee To Announce Candidates List Soon

What Did Jitan Ram Manjhi Say?

“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. I don't want to become Chief Minister. I just want our party to be recognised,” Manjhi said.

Earlier, hinting strongly at his party’s expectations in the NDA’s seat-sharing talks for the Bihar Assembly Elections, Manjhi invoked poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar’s lines, tweaking them to demand “15 villages,” meaning 15 assembly seats.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Manjhi quoted a famous line from poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar’s epic poem Rashmirathi with a slight twist. The poem recounts Lord Krishna’s final efforts to prevent the war of the Mahabharata.

“Ho nyay agar to aadha do, yadi usmein bhi koi badha ho, to de do keval 15 gram, rakho apni dharti tamam, HAM wahi khushi se khayenge, parijan pe asi na uthayenge,” Manjhi wrote on X.
The lines roughly translate to: “Give us just 15 villages and keep the rest; HAM will be content and won’t take up arms against our own.”

In Dinkar’s original verse, the demand was for ‘paanch gram’, meaning five villages for the five Pandava brothers. Manjhi invoked the line, replacing five with fifteen to reflect his party’s seat demand.

Seat Sharing Talks Ahead Of Bihar Elections

The NDA is yet to officially announce its seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. The BJP and JD(U) are likely to contest 100 seats each out of the total 243, NDTV quoted sources said.

ALSO READ: Cough Syrup Row: WHO Seeks India's Response On Whether 'Killer' Coldrif Was Exported To Other Nations Or Not

Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas) may be allocated 24 seats, Manjhi’s Hindustan Awam Morcha around 10, and Upendra Kushwaha’s party approximately six. Both Manjhi and Paswan are reportedly unhappy with the number of seats, and the latter is said to be pressing for 40 seats.

Both Manjhi and Paswan lead Dalit-centric parties within the NDA alliance, and are actively pushing to boost their leverage in seat-sharing negotiations. Earlier this month, Manjhi reaffirmed his commitment while speaking at a rally in Darbhanga, “We have only four MLAs right now. We want 20 to 25 so that our voice can be heard more strongly in the Assembly.”