Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi took a veiled dig at Chirag Paswan for demanding 40 seats in Bihar, where assembly elections will be held later this year.
"What can I say if there is no coordination in NDA? Both are Union Ministers. Tell me what they have done for Bihar?" said Tejashwi, as reported by news agency PTI.
Manjhi's veiled dig at Chirag
80-year-old Manjhi is reportedly not on good terms with his Union Cabinet colleague Chirag, and he is frowned upon for his demand to contest on 40 seats in the Bihar elections.
"The character and conduct of that person is well known since 2020," said Manjhi, who heads the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), earlier. "Be that as it may, all NDA partners should do nothing that queers the pitch for other allies... Once a decision is taken at the top level, all should abide by it."
Chirag's 40-seat demand
Following his party's success in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when it won all five seats on which it contested, Chirag has reportedly demanded 40 seats for his Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas). The BJP, however, is unlikely to accept his demand and is not willing to offer him more than 25 seats.
In the 2020 Bihar elections, the undivided LJP contested on 137 seats out of the 243 seats after Chirag revolted against Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal-United (JD-U), significantly damaging the latter's chances on many seats.
Although Chirag's party won just one seat, it justified its decision, saying the party secured 6 per cent of the total votes. On Sunday, LJP MP Arun Bharti said the party could have secured a 10 per cent vote share had it contested on all 243 seats in the state.
"This has been a part of our strategic move and political character. The year 2020 made it clear that if any party in Bihar’s politics dared to contest elections alone, it was only the Lok Janshakti Party," he said in an 'X' post in Hindi.
