Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said on Sunday that the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar present his Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) with a "do or die" situation. Speaking to reporters in his Lok Sabha constituency of Gaya, Manjhi revealed that he felt "humiliated" that the HAM has not achieved "recognised party" status even after a decade since its inception.
"To get the status, my party needs to win at least eight seats in the Vidhan Sabha. Or, we should poll six per cent of the total votes," the 80-year-old leader said.
"We can achieve the goal in two ways. We may contest at least 15 seats as a National Democratic Alliance constituent and, even with a strike rate of not more than 50 per cent, win the required number. The other way is to field candidates in 50-100 seats," Manjhi explained.
Recently, at a party national executive meeting in New Delhi, Manjhi said that the HAM could contest "all 243 seats". However, he later clarified to journalists back home that it was merely a rhetorical statement intended to enthuse his cadres.
Manjhi founded the party in 2015 after he split from the Janata Dal(United) in protest against pressure from Nitish Kumar to step down as Bihar's Chief Minister to facilitate Kumar's return.
When asked if he had made up his mind on how the HAM could achieve the desired outcome in the upcoming polls, he replied evasively, "If I am authorised by the party to take a decision, I will certainly do the needful. I am not the national president. The post is held by Santosh Kumar Suman."
Suman is Manjhi's son and a minister in the Nitish Kumar cabinet. While Suman is a member of the state legislative council, his wife Deepa and mother-in-law Jyoti Devi are members of the assembly.
"The upcoming assembly polls present us with a do-or-die situation. I feel humiliated that even after 10 years, my party still falls under the category of registered but unrecognised", said Manjhi.
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