With just 1 seat, Jitan Ram Manjhi blames it on BJP chief Amit Shah and RSS

PATNA: NDA ally and former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, whose Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S) was expected to get a lot more than the one seat that he managed to win, said RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat should not have raised the issue of reservation "at the wrong time".

The HAM-S chief also held BJP president Amit Shah partly responsible for the NDA's poll debacle. Shah, who had said during campaigning that "crackers will burst in Pakistan if BJP loses the Bihar election", has faced substantial flak for the statement and is now being blamed by many within the party for "unnecessarily annoying the entire Muslim community".

Manjhi, who felt it would have been better for the NDA had it announced a CM face, added, "Though Bhagwat did not say anything about revoking reservation and his intentions were good, his remark was ill-timed. We failed to convince the electorate on rising dal prices, reservation and DNA issues."