Bihar polls: Manjhi throws a spanner in NDA seat-alliance agreement

Owaisi's party to field candidates in Muslim dominated Seemanchal

It was a tough day for Bihar’s rival coalitions. Hindustan Awam Morcha leader Jitan Ram Manjhi kept the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership on tenterhooks with his demands for a bigger share of seats for his party, while there was bad news for the Janata Dal (United)-led ‘grand alliance’ as All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) announced its intent to contest seats in the Muslim-dominated Seemanchal area of the state.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was close to announcing its seat-sharing agreement until Manjhi upset its plans. BJP President Amit Shah, Bihar election in-charge Ananth Kumar held separate consultations with Manjhi, Lok Janshakti Party’s Ram Vilas Paswan and Rashtriya Loktantrik Samata Party (RLSP)’s Upendra Kushwaha.

Sources said Manjhi was offered 15 seats. But the former chief minister wanted more. According to sources, Paswan’s LJP was offered 41 seats and its leadership said it was satisfied with its share. Paswan fed a spoonful of curd to Shah to formalise the agreement. Kushwaha’s RLSP seemed satisfied with 25 seats. LJP has six Lok Sabha MPs from Bihar and RLSP has three.

The BJP’s seat allocation for itself will depend upon how many it leaves for Manjhi. Sources said the BJP could contest 157 seats, while Manjhi’s party fielding its candidates on 20 seats. However, he was upset that Kushwaha’s party was being given more than his and that five of the legislators who had quit the JD(U) along with him were now being given tickets on the BJP symbol. Interestingly, most of those who have stuck with Manjhi are forward caste legislators.

Bihar has 243 Assembly seats, with 37 reserved for Scheduled Castes and two for Scheduled Tribes. Both Manjhi and Paswan are keen that their parties contest on as many reserved seats as possible. JD (U) MP KC Tyagi said: “Nitish Kumar and our party made Manjhi the CM of 130 MLAs in Bihar. Now, he is begging with the BJP for a dozen seats.”

AIMIM chief Assaduddin Owaisi said in Hyderabad that his party would contest the election mainly in four districts - Araria, Purnea, Kishanganj, Katihar. "We are limited to the Seemanchal area of Bihar. We are realistic about our chances of winning. We know our strengths and weaknesses. It is in the interest and justice of the Seemanchal region we are contesting elections there," Owaisi said. A Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad, Owaisi didn’t disclose the number of seats. He dismissed the criticism that he was contesting the polls to ensure BJP’s victory.

But the four districts, all of which will go to polls in the last of the five-phased election on November 5, have 24 Assembly segments. Araria has six Assembly segments, Purnea seven, Kishanganj four and Katihar seven. Kishanganj has nearly 68 per cent Muslims, while the other three have over 40 per cent Muslims. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led NDA lost only nine of the 40 seats in Bihar. Four of these were Araria, Kishanganj, Purnia and Katihar.

Meanwhile, the Jharkand Mukti Morcha working President and former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD President Lalu Prasad to explore the possibility of joining their ‘grand alliance’, which also includes the Congress.