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Former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi.
With Assembly polls approaching in Bihar, the Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) [HAM (S)] has issued a March 31 deadline to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Grand Alliance in the state for setting up coordination committee.
The deadline comes in the backdrop of a meeting Manjhi held with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday and an earlier meeting the HAM(S) chief held with poll strategist Prashant Kishor.
HAM (S) spokesperson Danish Rizwan told The Indian Express: “We have long been asking RJD to set up a coordination committee of Grand Alliance partners to discuss joint press conferences, meetings and number of seats, but RJD is not paying heed. We have now set deadline of March 31 for the RJD to form the coordination committee.”
Asked about Manjhi’s meeting with the CM, Rizwan said the two leaders discussed the opening of a Dalit hostel and the revamp of a block in Manjhi’s village. He dismissed reports of HAM (S) merging with the ruling JD (U)-led NDA alliance.
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RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tewari told The Indian Express: “Manjhi’s demand for a coordination committee is not justified. We have valued him, gave him three seats to contest in Lok Sabha, made his son an MLC. He must not try to exert pressure on us. We are the largest party in the alliance and other constituents must respect us.”
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