**Patna:** Bihar’s two prominent Dalit leaders and Union ministers, Jitan Ram Manjhi and Chirag Paswan, are posing a significant challenge to the BJP by hardening their stance on seat-sharing deals for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.
Manjhi, leader of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), has asserted that his party will not contest the polls unless it is allotted at least 15 seats in the alliance. Speaking to reporters, he clarified that HAM would remain part of the NDA camp but emphasized the need for adequate recognition through a respectable number of seats.
“I don’t want to become chief minister. I just want our party to be recognized,” Manjhi said. “In the absence of recognition, we face humiliation. If we do not get the proposed number of seats, we will not contest the election. We will support the NDA, but we won’t contest.”
BJP national president JP Nadda reportedly contacted Manjhi to pacify him and discuss the seat-sharing issue.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Manjhi quoted lines from Dinkar’s classic war poem *Rashmirathi*, with a slight modification. The poem narrates Lord Krishna’s desperate attempt to prevent the Mahabharata battle. Manjhi’s version reads:
*“Ho nyay agar to aadha do, yadi us mein bhi koi badha ho, to de do keval 15 gram, rakho apni dharti tamam, HAM wahi khushi se khayenge, parijan pe asi na uthayenge.”*
This loosely translates to: “Give us just 15 villages and keep everything else. HAM will be happy and won’t raise arms against our own.” In the original poem, Dinkar wrote ‘5 gram’—five villages for the five Pandava brothers—but Manjhi replaced this with 15 to underline his demand.
On the other hand, Chirag Paswan, leader of the undivided Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), is more reserved but still sends clear signals about his intentions. Though he has refrained from openly applying pressure, he dropped a cryptic message on the death anniversary of his late father, Ram Vilas Paswan, the founder of LJP.
Recalling his father, Chirag said, “Papa always used to say, do not commit a crime, do not endure a crime. If you want to live, learn to die, learn to fight at every step.”
Reports suggest that the LJP is demanding 40 seats in the NDA’s seat-sharing arrangement. However, the BJP reportedly wants to allocate only eight seats to HAM and 22 seats to Chirag’s faction, highlighting the ongoing tussle ahead of the elections.
The seat-sharing negotiations within the NDA are still in the early stages, with further information expected to be shared at the appropriate time. Meanwhile, both Manjhi and Chirag remain key players whose decisions could significantly impact the alliance’s prospects in Bihar.
https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/bihar-election-2025-jitan-ram-manjhi-chirag-paswan-toughen-stand-on-seat-sharing-ahead-of-assembly-polls