Jharkhand Assembly Election: NDA Ally Jitan Ram Manjhi Hints At Going Solo For Polls

Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, leader of the Hindustan Awam Morcha (Secular), has become the second NDA ally to indicate a willingness to go solo in poll-bound Jharkhand, if necessary.

On Thursday, Manjhi stated that his party would aim to contest 10 seats "on its own", although he also mentioned that discussions with BJP regarding seat allocations were ongoing.

Photo Credit: PTI

Last week, fellow Union Minister Chirag Paswan, head of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) - also part of the ruling NDA - speaking to The Hindu said that his party was prepared to contest the Jharkhand polls independently "if seat negotiations with BJP do not have desirable results".

He noted that LJP (Ram Vilas) held a strong position in 14 constituencies.

The Jharkhand Assembly consists of 81 seats, of which 28 are reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates. The BJP has previously indicated that it does not plan to allocate any of these seats to its NDA allies.

"In a recent meeting in Chatra, Jharkhand, I announced that our party, HAM(S), will contest 10 seats in the forthcoming Assembly elections," Manjhi told journalists in Patna on Thursday.

"I am part of the NDA and have been in discussions with the leadership. Whatever seat is allocated to us for the Jharkhand Assembly poll, we will contest," he said, adding, "We will contest the elections there, for sure." Manjhi also mentioned that his party has been identifying the seats it wishes to contest.

Last month, BJP stated that it would contest the Jharkhand elections in partnership with the Janata Dal (United) and the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), both of which are NDA allies.

"We will have an alliance with the AJSU and JD(U) in the Jharkhand Assembly election. The seat-sharing arrangement is 99% complete, with just one or two seats left to finalise," announced BJP's Jharkhand in-charge, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on 28 September.

His statement made no mention of the LJP (Ram Vilas) or HAM(S), suggesting that they are not part of the BJP's electoral strategy for Jharkhand.

After AJSU leader Sudesh Mahato met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi in September, party sources revealed that Mahato had "demanded 16 seats" to contest.

In the 2019 Assembly elections, the AJSU was not part of the NDA and contested 52 seats. Similarly, the JD(U), led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, has requested 11 seats in Jharkhand, citing its alliance with the NDA in Bihar.

However, sources within the BJP's Jharkhand unit told *The Hindu* that the party was only willing to offer 10 or 11 seats to its allies, as "it is preparing to contest the remaining 70 seats".