Bihar Elections 2025: Efforts to finalise a seat-sharing agreement for the upcoming polls hit snags this week — with several key BJP allies sparking buzz about defections. Hindustani Awam Morcha chief Jitan Ram Manjhi indicated on Wednesday that the party was willing to ‘settle’ for 15 constituencies — posting a cryptic Mahabharat reference on social media to underscore his point. Speculative reports have also suggested that long-standing BJP ally Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is mulling an alliance with the Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraaj Party after seat-sharing talks stumbled.
‘De do keval 15…’
Manjhi suggested that his four-MLA-strong party would have ideally likedto contest “half” of the 243 assembly constituencies in Bihar — but was willing to “settle for 15” seats and avoid fighting against NDA partners. He took to X with a post seemingly inspired by a famous passage from Ramdhari Singh Dinkar’s war poem Rashmirathi. The excerpt referred to how Lord Krishna had tried to broker peace with Duryodhana — whose obstinacy led to the epic battle of the Mahabharata.
“Ho nyay aagar to aadha do. Par usme bhi yadi badha ho, to de do keval 15 gram, rakho apni dharti tamam (give us half of the pie if you wish to do justice. If you cannot dispense with a fair share, give us 15 villages – a metaphor for seats – and keep the rest for yourself)…HAM (the party’s acronym used as a pun for we) Khushi se khaayenge, parijan pe asi na uthayenge (we shall remain content with so much and not take up arms against our kin)”, wrote Manjhi in Hindi.
The post came three days after senior leaders Dharmendra Pradhan and Vinod Tawde visited his house in Patna — understandably to discuss seat sharing.
“When someone expresses their pain by referencing the Mahabharata and reciting poetry, it feels like there is a huge gap between things and their situation,” RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha told reporters.
Chirag Paswan to ally with Prashant Kishor?
Buzz about a possible crack in the NDA ranks grew even as BJP election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan and other party leaders met with Chirag Paswan at his Delhi residence on Tuesday. Source-based reports quoted LJP leaders to add that an alliance could not be ruled out because doors “always remained open in politics”. The LJP (RV) has reportedly sought 40 seats while the BJP remains willing to allot only 25 Assemblies.
Besides the number of seats Paswan has sought, his party is keen on certain constituencies seen to be friendlier to his party’s prospects and has asked for being allotted a couple of assembly seats in each of the five Lok Sabha constituencies it had won in 2024.
The HAM and LJP (RV) are both part of the National Democratic Alliance alongside the BJP, Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Lok Shakti Party. The legislative alliance in Bihar is led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. LJP (RV) has no sitting MLA in the Bihar assembly following the defection of Rajkumar Singh to the JD(U). HAM has four MLAs in the current Assembly.