Patna, Feb 28 (IANS) Amid seat-sharing discussions on the Rajya Sabha elections, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), an NDA constituent, has reminded the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of an alleged earlier promise regarding a Rajya Sabha seat.
Party patron and Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi dismissed reports of dissatisfaction, but firmly reiterated his commitment to him.
“I am not angry, but we were told we would get two Lok Sabha seats and one Rajya Sabha seat. It was said to be written in stone. However, we received only one Lok Sabha seat. We thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for that,” Manjhi said.
He added that while he is not demanding a Rajya Sabha berth, the promise should be honoured.
“If you want to give, that’s fine; if you don’t want to give, that’s fine too. But you had promised, and I will always maintain that promise,” he remarked.
A total of 37 Rajya Sabha seats across the country are going to polls, of which five are from Bihar and are considered politically significant.
The terms of three NDA MPs and two Grand Alliance MPs from Bihar are set to end.
The outgoing members include Ramnath Thakur, Harivansh Narayan Singh, Upendra Kushwaha, Prem Chand Gupta, and Amarendra Dhari Singh.
According to the current Assembly strength, the NDA has 202 MLAs, and to win one Rajya Sabha seat, it requires 41 votes. To win all five seats, 205 MLAs would be required.
This arithmetic makes the fifth seat crucial and potentially contentious.
On the other hand, the Grand Alliance has 35 MLAs. If it secures support from five AIMIM MLAs and one Bahujan Samaj Party MLA, the opposition could be in a position to win one seat.
Sources indicate that Tejashwi Yadav and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) are actively exploring this possibility. However, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is said to have set certain conditions.
Under the NDA, discussions are reportedly underway on a tentative formula: two seats for the BJP, two for the JDU, and one for an ally.
Whether that one seat goes to HAM remains the key question.
Manjhi’s repeated reference to the “written in stone” assurance has added a new dimension to the negotiations.
While he has refrained from issuing any ultimatum, his remarks have sparked speculation that the demand could complicate the NDA’s internal calculations.
As the Rajya Sabha elections approach, all eyes remain on how the ruling alliance resolves the seat-sharing formula and whether Manjhi’s reminder translates into political leverage.
--IANS
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