Had only sought recount in 2020 assembly polls: Manjhi

Patna: A day after claiming he had ensured the victory of his party candidate from Tekari from the jaws of defeat during the 2020 assembly elections, Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Saturday backtracked, saying he had only asked the then Gaya district magistrate for a recount of votes. Defending Manjhi, minor water resources minister in the Bihar govt, Santosh Kumar Suman, said his father had brought the district magistrate reference into the conversation merely to add “romance” to his story, while strongly denying any “wrongdoing” in the assembly elections.

Talking to the reporters in Patna, the senior Manjhi, who is also the HAM(S) patron, alleged that his statement was twisted before being presented to the public. He said he was referring only to the recounting of votes during the election process and not to any kind of “electoral manipulation”.


“What I meant was that our Tekari candidate (Anil Kumar) should not have run away; rather, he should have demanded a recounting. The Gaya DM came to my mind since he agreed to our request for a recounting of votes when he was trailing by 2,700 votes during the 2020 assembly polls, and ultimately our candidate emerged victorious,” Manjhi said. He said his candidate should have petitioned for a recount this time as well, but instead fled from the counting centre. “We might have won if there was a recounting,” he said.

Citing his own experience, Manjhi said he had lost the 1990 assembly elections by just 182 votes. “I requested a recounting of votes, but the DM did not consider my request. Maybe I would have won the elections if the recounting was done,” Manjhi told reporters.

His son and minister in the Nitish Kumar govt, Suman, came out in defence of Manjhi, saying the latter did not intend to undermine the poll body in any manner. “He (Manjhi) narrated the 2020 story just to, perhaps, add romance to his conversation and nothing else,” Suman said. Describing the Election Commission as an independent, transparent and fair organisation, Suman said whoever emerged victorious in the elections had the support of voters.

Manjhi triggered a fresh “vote chori” controversy with his remark that he lost one seat by “mistake” this time as his Tikari candidate did not consult him, unlike during the 2020 assembly polls when he had “helped him win elections despite him trailing by 2,700 votes”.

“He (the Tekari candidate) lost the seat by mistake as he did not consult me to ask about any ‘upay’ (solution). During the 2020 assembly polls, he was trailing by 2,700 votes, but when he contacted me, I initiated efforts to ensure his victory. This time, he lost the elections by just 1,600 votes as he did not consult me. Instead of contacting me, he chose to concede defeat,” Manjhi is heard saying in a video that has since gone viral.

The remarks drew sharp reactions from INDIA bloc partners, who said their worst fears had been proved true, alleging that the Union Minister had “revealed large-scale poll rigging during elections” in Bihar.

Get an chance to win ₹5000 Amazon Voucher by taking part in India's Biggest Habit Index! Take the survey here