advertisement
Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Sunday, 25 February, demanded that his party be allotted one Rajya Sabha seat in the upcoming elections failing which the party would not support the BJP-led coalition in the next one Lok Sabha and two Assembly by-polls.
The Rajya Sabha election is slated for 23 March.
The by-polls for Araria Lok Sabha seat and Jahanabad and Bhabhua Assembly seats are scheduled to be held on 11 March.
Manjhi said "for more than a year and a half, I and my party have been working tirelessly for strengthening the NDA in Bihar. But as the saying goes – “even a mother does not feed her child until he or she cries and demands attention”.
Manjhi had formed HAM after walking out of the JD(U) in protest against the alleged pressure to step down as chief minister in 2015 and make way for the return of Nitish Kumar.
He had fought the Assembly polls held the same year as part of the NDA which lost to the Grand Alliance comprising JD(U), RJD and Congress.
Recently, the former chief minister had expressed the wish that his party be allowed to contest by-poll from Jahanabad Assembly seat, but withdrew the demand following alleged cold response from the BJP. The seat is now being contested by the JD(U), which had initially announced that it would not contest any of the three seats going for by-polls.
(The Quint, in association with BitGiving, has launched a crowdfunding campaign for an 8-month-old who was raped in Delhi on 28 January 2018. The baby girl, who we will refer to as 'Chhutki', was allegedly raped by her 28-year-old cousin when her parents were away. She has been discharged from AIIMS hospital after undergoing three surgeries, but needs more medical treatment in order to heal completely. Her parents hail from a low-income group and have stopped going to work so that they can take care of the baby. You can help cover Chhutki's medical expenses and secure her future. Every little bit counts. Click here to donate.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
Published: 25 Feb 2018,07:17 PM IST