'We Won't Leave The NDA'

'We share and support the ideology of the NDA and will not work against the NDA.'

The soft-spoken Santosh Kumar Suman, president of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), a constituent of the ruling National Democratic Alliance and a Bihar minister, is confident that the NDA will return to power after the assembly elections.

Suman, 50, is the elder son of HAM Founder and Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who belongs to the Dalit Musahar community, one of the most marginalised and backward sections in the state.

Jitan Ram Manjhi is the first leader from the Musahar community -- which accounts for three per cent of Bihar's total population -- to become chief minister and Union minister, a source of pride for the community.

Unlike his outspoken father, Santosh Kumar Suman is careful and measured with his words. A PhD in political science and a member of the Bihar legislative council, he was first sworn in as a minister in 2020.

Dr Suman began his political career as an active member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarathi Parishad despite his father then being a Congress leader in the 1990s who later joined Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United, before founding the HAM in 2015.

"Our demand is genuine to contest more seats this time. This is to strengthen and expand our party; there is nothing wrong with it. Our party leaders and workers are ambitious. It has nothing to do with the baseless speculation of a threat to leave the NDA if the demand is not met," Dr Suman tells Rediff Senior Contributor M I Khan.

Why is the HAM suddenly putting pressure for more seats to contest in the Bihar assembly election?

No, no, it is not pressure. We are raising a demand to contest more seats at the right place. We have to make our genuine demand to fulfil the aspirations and ambitions of our party leaders, workers and supporters.

We want to contest from more seats in view of the fact that our party network has increased in the last five years.

I, as the party president, and Jitan Ram Manjhiji, as the founder of the party, have worked to strengthen the party and would want to see the party become a big one.

Our party stands for the development of Bihar, and we are with the ideology of the NDA.

But your father recently threatened to contest 50 to 100 seats if the NDA did not give the HAM at least 15 seats to contest.

Manjhiji wanted to expand the party that he formed, and for this he has put forward his demand to contest more seats to ensure that HAM gets the status of a recognised party in the state.

HAM is yet to function as a recognised party, that is a big hurdle to growing further. As Manjhiji has rightly highlighted, HAM has to win eight assembly seats in this election, or the party should poll 6% of the total votes to get the status of a recognised party.

HAM has only one MP in the Lok Sabha and four MLAs in the Bihar assembly, but your party is demanding 15 to 20 seats to contest. Is it not more than the party deserves?

This time, our party's target is to win at least eight assembly seats. It would be possible if we contested from more seats. There is no other way; we have to contest more seats.

The party has not decided on any number because the numbers game is not good. Our aim will be to contest more seats to achieve our goal. The number of seats has not been defined yet; it may be 10, 12, or 13 seats.

So far, no formal talks have taken place on this issue. HAM won only one seat in the 2015 assembly polls and four seats in the 2020 assembly polls. Our party also won its first Lok Sabha seat when Jitan Ram Manjhi won from the Gaya seat.

In the last decade, HAM, as a party, is growing, and our performance in each election is getting better.

This means HAM wants a respectable share in the NDA's seat sharing.

Every party wants a respectable number of seats to contest. It's not just us; the JD-U, Lok Janshakti Party-Ramvilas, and Upendra Kushwaha's party, the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, also do.

In election time, party leaders and workers want to be involved in electioneering, and this is possible when the party contests more seats.

HAM is now confined to the Magadh region, mainly in the Gaya district. Are you aiming to expand the party outside of Magadh?

The Magadh region is our stronghold, but we want to expand across the state. We will consider contesting from North Bihar as well. We are advocating for the poor and marginalised sections of society, and they are everywhere; we enjoy their support.

Why did your father recently claim that it is a 'do or die' situation for the HAM? This triggered speculation that the HAM warned the NDA that it would leave if its demand was not met.

It is nothing like that; there is no talk of leaving the NDA. I would like to make it clear that there is no scope for speculation. We are firmly with the NDA and will contest the polls together. We share and support the ideology of the NDA and will not work against the NDA.

Manjhiji has strongly asserted the interests of the party that he founded. He has made a genuine demand in view of the aspirations of party leaders and workers. Manjhiji is serious about getting the status of a recognised party for the HAM.

But the NDA is led by the BJP, which has a different ideology. What about HAM's ideology?

Every political party has its own ideology. The NDA's ideology is simply one of development. We have a common minimum programme. As for the BJP, it strongly believes in Sanatani ideology but is not against anyone. The BJP-led central government is not discriminating against anyone; it is working for all. We also strongly believe in Sanatan.

Will Nitish Kumar continue as chief minister after the polls?

It is certain. Nitishji is leader of the NDA in Bihar, and we are going to contest the polls under his leadership. He is also head of the government in the state. Nitishji will become CM again from 2025 to 2030.

There are no 'ifs and buts'. He is capable, healthy, and still able to take Bihar forward on the path of development.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff