Irked over the delay in finalisation of seats in the 'mahagathbandhan', RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav Saturday warned alliance partners that if they were not willing to give up their pride and insisted "on a few more seats", then countrymen would not forgive them.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal heir-apparent's remarks come at a time when less than 48 hours were left for nominations for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls and the grand alliance is yet to announce the number of seats to be fought by different constituents.
"The constitution and the country are facing an unprecedented crisis. If the opposition makes any mistake of strategy, nobody knows whether there will be elections in the future.
"If for increasing a few seats of theirs and reducing those of other associates, (then) the constituents do not give up pride, the justice loving countrymen with faith in the Constitution will not forgive them," he said.
Earlier in the day, former chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) president Jitan Ram Manjhi, apparently dissatisfied with the number of seats offered to him, said he has submitted a list of five seats to the alliance.
Manjhi said he had a talk with Tejashwi and Congress in-charge for Bihar Shaktisinh Gohil and reports of 11 seats being left for the Congress were not accurate.
He said after receiving a response from the 'mahagathbandhan', the matter would be discussed by his party's parliamentary board.
The Congress, RJD and HAM besides Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samta Party, Sharad Yadav's Loktantrik Janata Dal and Bollywood set designer-turned-politician Mukesh Sahni's Vikasheel Insaan Party are formally acknowledged as constituents of the 'mahagathbandhan'.
The grand alliance is also exploring the possibility of an electoral understanding with the Left -- CPI, CPI(M-L) and CPI(M) -- which has pockets of influence in the state.
Meanwhile, BJP state spokesman Nikhil Anand took potshots at Tejashwi in the day, tweeting, "You should beware of the consequences of aligning with the Congress which has been a staunch opponent of the social justice plank."
In another tweet, the BJP spokesman sought to fish in troubled waters claiming that Kushwaha and Manjhi both of whom quit the NDA last year "carried more weight" in Bihar politics than Congress but were being given a raw deal.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
