In NDA, Paswan more powerful than Manjhi, claims JD(U)

Expressing his sympathy with the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which has reportedly expressed "dissatisfaction" over the seat-sharing for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, Janata Dal (United) leader Sanjay Singh said here on Monday that Paswan was more powerful in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) than former Bihar chief minister (CM) Jitan Ram Manjhi.

"Who was Manjhi before CM Nitish Kumar made him the Bihar CM?" he asked.

Taking a dig at his former party colleague and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief Manjhi, Singh said the former CM could prove damaging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the game he had played in the past two days proved that he could not be trusted by anyone.

When asked whether the JD (U)-RJD-Congress alliance would welcome Paswan in their alliance should he break away from the NDA, the JD(U) leader said the decision would be taken by the alliance's leadership.

Singh's reaction came after LJP leader Chirag Psaswan said he was taken aback by the BJP's decision on Monday to allot just 40 seats to his party in the 243-seat Bihar assembly.