Jitan Ram Manjhi demands 40 seats in Bihar polls, announces candidate for kasba

With the Bihar assembly elections inching closer, political activity in the state is picking up pace. While most parties within the NDA are maintaining silence on seat-sharing formulas or candidate lists, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief and Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has taken a bold step ahead of the alliance consensus.

Speaking to the media, Manjhi declared that his party would contest on 30 to 40 seats in the upcoming elections. He didn’t stop there—he also announced the name of HAM’s candidate from the Kasba assembly seat in Purnia district. According to Manjhi, the party’s Purnia district president Rajendra Yadav will be fielded from Kasba.

This move comes at a time when the BJP and JDU—two main pillars of the NDA in Bihar—are emphasizing unity and coordination. Manjhi’s statement has now put pressure on the alliance leadership to address the growing assertiveness of smaller allies like HAM.

Rajendra Yadav, interestingly, was the NDA’s joint candidate from the Kasba constituency in the 2020 elections. His re-nomination by HAM indicates that the party is not ready to compromise on its previously held seats, even if it means stepping ahead of a collective NDA decision.

Political observers believe this is a clear signal that HAM wants a bigger bargaining position within the NDA. Manjhi has often been vocal about his dissatisfaction with the seat-sharing process in the past, and this early announcement could be his way of staking a firmer claim.

While the NDA publicly continues to project an image of internal harmony, such unilateral declarations could trigger tensions within the alliance—especially if more smaller partners follow suit. The road to the Bihar elections is clearly heating up, and this is just the beginning.