<p>Patna: Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Wednesday indicated that he would have liked his four-MLA-strong Hindustani Awam Morcha to contest "half" of Bihar's 243 assembly constituencies, but was willing to "settle for 15" seats to avoid fighting against NDA partners.</p>.<p>The former Bihar chief minister came out with a post on his X handle, which seemed inspired from a famous passage in Ramdhari Singh Dinkar's war poem "Rashmirathi", wherein Lord Krishna had tried to broker peace with Duryodhana, whose obstinacy led to the epic battle of Mahabharata.</p>.<p>"Ho Nyay Aagar To Aadha Do (give us half of the pie if you wish to do justice)", wrote Manjhi, apparently addressing the BJP, three days after senior leaders Dharmendra Pradhan and Vinod Tawde had visited his house here, understandably, to discuss seat sharing.</p>.<p>Manjhi added, "Par usme bhi yadi badha ho, to de do keval 15 gram, rakho apni dharti tamam (if you cannot dispense with a fair share, give us 15 villages - a metaphor for seats - and keep the rest for yourself)".</p>.<p>"HAM (the party's acronym used as a pun for we) Khushi se khaayenge, parijan pe asi na uthayenge (we shall remain content with so much and not take up arms against our kin)".</p>.<p>Notably, Manjhi has been demanding at least 15 seats for HAM with the plea that his party must win at least eight to get the "recognised" status from the Election Commission, which has eluded the outfit even after 10 years of inception..</p>.<p>The BJP-led NDA in Bihar includes Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U), which Manjhi had split in 2015 to float HAM and which may get the lion's share. Other NDA partners in the state are Union minister Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha. </p>
<p>Patna: Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Wednesday indicated that he would have liked his four-MLA-strong Hindustani Awam Morcha to contest "half" of Bihar's 243 assembly constituencies, but was willing to "settle for 15" seats to avoid fighting against NDA partners.</p>.<p>The former Bihar chief minister came out with a post on his X handle, which seemed inspired from a famous passage in Ramdhari Singh Dinkar's war poem "Rashmirathi", wherein Lord Krishna had tried to broker peace with Duryodhana, whose obstinacy led to the epic battle of Mahabharata.</p>.<p>"Ho Nyay Aagar To Aadha Do (give us half of the pie if you wish to do justice)", wrote Manjhi, apparently addressing the BJP, three days after senior leaders Dharmendra Pradhan and Vinod Tawde had visited his house here, understandably, to discuss seat sharing.</p>.<p>Manjhi added, "Par usme bhi yadi badha ho, to de do keval 15 gram, rakho apni dharti tamam (if you cannot dispense with a fair share, give us 15 villages - a metaphor for seats - and keep the rest for yourself)".</p>.<p>"HAM (the party's acronym used as a pun for we) Khushi se khaayenge, parijan pe asi na uthayenge (we shall remain content with so much and not take up arms against our kin)".</p>.<p>Notably, Manjhi has been demanding at least 15 seats for HAM with the plea that his party must win at least eight to get the "recognised" status from the Election Commission, which has eluded the outfit even after 10 years of inception..</p>.<p>The BJP-led NDA in Bihar includes Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U), which Manjhi had split in 2015 to float HAM and which may get the lion's share. Other NDA partners in the state are Union minister Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha. </p>