Hindustani Awam Morcha leader Jitan Ram Manjhi has been fielded from the Gaya Parliamentary constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024, said the party in a press statement on Thursday. The development comes after sources told ABP News that Manjhi could get one seat under the seat-sharing arrangement of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The ruling alliance in Bihar is expected to give Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) 16 seats to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls while the BJP could keep 17 seats with itself. Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party is likely to field candidates on five seats.
Another NDA ally Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha has also been allotted one seat. Kushwaha rubbished the suggestion that he was upset with the seat-sharing formula of the alliance. "It is true we were bargaining for more seats. Just like every other party, we were trying to strike the best bargain. But in an alliance, all constituents have to make adjustments," said the former Karakat MP, as per a PTI report.
In the opposition's I.N.D.I.A bloc faction, the Rashtriya Janata Dal said that the seat-sharing in the state will be finalised in a day or two, adding that talks are going well and in a positive direction.
"Agreement has been built to a great extent, things are on track, in a couple of days, everything will be cleared," RJD MP and national spokesperson Manoj Jha told reporters after meeting Congress General Secretary Mukul Wasnik.
On being asked about the details of a number of seats to be fought by I.N.D.I.A bloc partners, Jha said, "You are talking about numbers, we are concerned about winnability. A good formula will emerge, and everything will be decided."