Patna, August 20: Ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), which is headed by former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, has broke ties with the grand alliance or Mahagathbandhan. The decision of snapping ties with the grand alliance was announced by the HAM on Thursday after a meeting of the core committee of the party held at the residence of Jitan Ram Manjhi. Bihar: BJP-JDU Spreading Lies, Making False Promises, Says Ex-CM Jitan Ram Manjhi.

"A decision was taken in the core committee meeting that our party will be snap ties with the Grand Alliance. We had been constantly demanding formation of a coordination committee to run the Grand Alliance properly, but Tejashwi Yadav was imposing his decisions," HAM leader Santosh Suman, said. Manjhi had been upset after the grand alliance did not form a co-ordination committee to discuss seat-sharing. Bihar Elections: Non-NDA Parties Present Memorandum to Election Commissioner.

"A coordination committee of Mahagathbandhan was not formed despite our repeated demands. Though Rahul Gandhi had assured us that a coordination committee will be formed, nothing happened," HAM's national spokesperson Danish Rizwan told India Today. After HAM's exit, the grand alliance now comprises the RJD, Congress, RLSP led by Upendra Kushwaha and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) led by Mukesh Sahani.

Manjhi was also unhappy with Tejashwi Yadav, the de-facto chief of Rashtriya Janata Dal. "Tejashwi Yadav had been taking one-sided decisions for the Grand Alliance. Smaller parties were not being heard," Santosh Suman was quoted as saying. "My father was very hurt by this. We finally decided that the party will no longer be a part of the Mahagathbandhan," he added. The term of the Bihar legislative assembly is supposed to end on November 29 and polls are likely to be held sometime in October-November.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 20, 2020 04:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).