Patna, Aug 9 Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary met Union MSME Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha- Secular (HAM-S) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi at his residence in Patna on Saturday, fueling speculation over seat-sharing within the National Democratic Alliance ahead of the 2025 Assembly elections.
HAM-S national president and state minister Santosh Kumar Suman was also present during the meeting.
Sources suggest Union Minister Manjhi expressed dissatisfaction with the NDA's proposed seat-sharing formula, reportedly insisting on a minimum of 20 Assembly seats for his party, despite demanding 40.
Jitan Ram Manjhi has categorically said he will not "repeat the mistake" of the Lok Sabha elections.
However, the Union Minister publicly downplayed any "rift", stating, "There is no conflict here; everything is more or less decided regarding how many seats each party will receive to contest the Bihar Assembly elections. Whoever gets the seats will have to be content with the allocation. Bihar needs an NDA government. Opposition parties are spreading false narratives, and the only way to counter that is to ensure the NDA's victory in 2025.”
He added that his meeting with Deputy CM Choudhary also included discussions about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to Gaya on August 22, with possible venues being Bela, Wazirganj, or another location in the district.
After the meeting, Santosh Suman described it as a formal interaction between Samrat Choudhary and Jitan Ram Manjhi focused mainly on preparations for the Prime Minister's visit.
"There is no resentment in NDA. Seat sharing will be done on time. We have discussed the venue of the Prime Minister's rally in Gaya, scheduled on August 22," he said.
Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular had contested on seven seats in Bihar during the 2020 Assembly elections and won four seats.
As the party has a strong hold among the Mahadalit community across the state, especially in Gaya, Nawada, Jehanabad and other districts, Union Minister Manjhi is bargaining more this time, citing a good strike rate in the 2020 Assembly elections.
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