Patna: Amid the political storm triggered by Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's remarks on alleged vote manipulation during the 2020 Assembly elections, Bihar's Industry and Road Construction Minister Dilip Jaiswal, on Friday, came out strongly in his defence, claiming that Manjhi's statement was being misinterpreted and twisted.

Addressing the controversy, Jaiswal asserted that Union Minister Manjhi had not spoken about vote rigging, but was referring to instances where election observers delay or influence the declaration of results.

"Jitan Ram Manjhi never said anything about vote manipulation. He was saying that sometimes, election observers try to defeat the winning candidates. He emphasised that the actual result should come out, which is why he contacted the election observer-cum-district magistrate of Gaya. People are now twisting his statement," he said.

To support his argument, Jaiswal cited examples from previous Assembly elections, claiming that delays in result declarations had raised concerns even when candidates were clearly winning.

"I want to put it in the public domain tha BJP's Gayatri Devi was leading by 18,000 votes in the Parihar Assembly constituency of Bihar's Sitamarhi district, yet the election observer did not declare her victory for nearly six hours. We contacted the election observer-cum-district magistrate, who had come from Assam. Now, people say that because we contacted him, she won the election. That is incorrect -- she was already the winning candidate," he said.

Rejecting allegations that the ruling NDA had the ability to manipulate election outcomes, Jaiswal pointed to several constituencies where NDA candidates lost by narrow margins.

"In Ramgarh Assembly constituency in Kaimur district, the NDA candidate lost by just 30 votes. In Dhaka, we lost by 178 votes, and in Forbesganj, the margin was only 150 votes. If ruling party leaders had the power to manipulate election results, we would have won these seats as well. That clearly did not happen," he said.

Jaiswal added that the election process remains intact and transparent, and warned against politicising Union Minister Manjhi's remarks for partisan gains.

Recently, a felicitation ceremony for Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) MLA Jyoti Devi from the Barachatti constituency was held at the Mohanpur High School grounds in Mohanpur block of Gaya district, where Union Minister and HAM patron Jitan Ram Manjhi attended as the chief guest.

Remarks made by Union Minister Manjhi during the event have since triggered a major political controversy.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) shared a video clip of Union Minister Manjhi's speech on its official X account, alleging that the Union Minister admitted to influencing election outcomes in the past.

According to the RJD, Union Minister Manjhi said from the dias that during the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, a candidate had informed him that he was losing, following which efforts were made, and the candidate eventually won.

Referring to the 2025 Assembly elections, Manjhi allegedly said that the same candidate failed to contact him in time, resulting in the party losing the seat.

"In 2020, the HAM candidate Anil Kumar told me that he was losing and asked if there was any solution. He was trailing by 2,700 votes, but we made efforts and won. This time, he was losing by only around 1,600 votes, but he did not inform me, and the seat slipped away," Manjhi is heard saying in the video shared by the RJD.

The HAM Chief also referred to a District Magistrate posted in Gaya during the 2020 Assembly elections, who is currently serving in Tripura.

He claimed that the officer had contacted him and recalled how the candidate managed to win despite trailing by a large margin.

"After hearing this, I felt disappointed. If I had been informed in time, I would have done something. But what's done is done," Manjhi said, according to the video.

It may be noted that Abhishek Singh was the District Magistrate of Gaya during the 2020 Assembly elections and is currently posted in Tripura.

In the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, the HAM contested six seats and won five.

In the Tekari Assembly constituency of Gaya district, HAM candidate Anil Kumar lost by 2,058 votes.

Union Minister Manjhi's remarks were made while referring to this poll defeat during the Barachatti rally.

Reacting sharply to Union Minister Manjhi, the RJD questioned the Election Commission, posting on X: "Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi is regretting his defeat in the Tikari Assembly seat in 2025 and his inability to repeat what happened earlier. An officer sitting in Tripura is also mourning. Where are the corrupt Election Commissioners and the Election Commission now? Is this democracy?"

Responding to the controversy, Jitan Ram Manjhi rejected the allegations and accused his political opponents of distorting his remarks.

Taking to his official X account, the HAM Chief said, "Some people who tampered with and made my video viral on social media think they can defame the son of a Musahar. I want to tell such people that now no one can insult or mislead the son of a Musahar. Manjhi is now a brand and is not afraid of anyone."

The controversy has intensified political tensions in Bihar, with opposition parties demanding accountability, while ruling NDA alliance leaders dismiss the allegations as "politically motivated misinterpretation".

--IANS

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