Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Sunday alleged that the BJP -led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) did not treat his party Hindustani Awam Morcha (Hum) in the Lok Sabha elections last year.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Ham’s national executive meeting, Manjhi claimed that he had raised the matter before BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda and JD (U) executive president Sanjay Jha and others.
The former Bihar Chief Minister said, “My party workers are feeling to be sidelined by BJP and JD (U). Both Nadda and Jha have assured me that our concerns will be removed in the assembly elections to be held later this year.
Manjhi claimed that his party was promised to give two seats of Lok Sabha and a Rajya Sabha seat “But it is our loyalty to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be satisfied with whatever was actually offered.”
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, ‘Hum’ got only one seat (Gaya) under the NDA, on which Manjhi contested and elected. Regarding the assembly elections, the founder of ‘Hum’ said that he wants to contest in 35-40 seats of the 243-member House.
Manjhi said, “We contested seven seats in 2020 and won four. I believe that if ‘we’ will have 20 MLAs, then the party will be able to effectively pursue its supporter agenda, irrespective of the Chief Minister. For 20 or more seats, we have to contest 35-40 seats. ‘
Apart from JD (U), BJP and ‘Hum’ in Bihar, the NDA includes Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Rajya Sabha member Upendra Kushwaha’s National Lok Morcha.
