Patna, Apr 13 (PTI) Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Sunday alleged that his Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) was not given a fair deal by the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha polls last year.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of HAM's national executive meeting here, Manjhi claimed to have taken up the matter with BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda and JD(U) working president Sanjay Jha, among others.

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"My party workers have been feeling sidelined by the BJP and JD(U). Both Nadda and Jha have assured me that our concerns will be addressed squarely in the assembly polls due later this year," said the former Bihar chief minister.

Manjhi claimed that his party was promised "two Lok Sabha seats and one berth in the Rajya Sabha", but "because of our loyalty towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we remained content with what was actually offered".

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In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, HAM got only one seat – Gaya - which Manjhi contested and made his parliamentary debut at the ripe age of 80 years.

Disclosing his expectations for the assembly elections in which JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar is likely to run for a fifth consecutive term in office, the HAM founder said he wanted to contest "35-40 seats" of the 243-strong House.

"We had contested seven seats in 2020 and won four. It has been my view that if HAM has 20 MLAs, the party will be able to push its pro-Dalit agenda effectively, no matter who is the chief minister. For a tally of 20 or more, we must get 35-40 seats to contest," said Manjhi.

Besides the JD(U), BJP and HAM, the NDA in Bihar includes the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) of Union minister Chirag Paswan and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)