Ahead of the Bihar assembly polls, Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi sparked controversy on Tuesday by threatening to leave Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet, citing his displeasure with the way his Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) was treated within the NDA alliance. The former Bihar chief minister criticized the BJP-led coalition for excluding his party from seat-sharing talks while speaking at a public event in Munger district.

Due to the party’s low influence in Jharkhand and Delhi, Jitan Ram Manjhi bemoaned the fact that HAM did not win any seats in those elections. Despite his resolve not to make demands in previous elections, he said that the situation was unfair and that “we must prove our worth in Bihar.” The 80-year-old leader, who used a passage from the Ramayana to highlight his annoyance, said that leaving could be required in order to be respected.

Manjhi asked the NDA leadership to give his party’s requests careful thought, even if he made it clear that his comments were not an act of rebellion. He disclosed that HAM was running for 40 seats in the next assembly elections in Bihar, saying that even 20 seats would help them better represent Dalit groups like the Bhuiyan-Musahar, to whom he belongs.

While acknowledging the good things the Nitish Kumar administration has done, Manjhi pointed out that a number of the promises he made to the Dalit community during his short time as chief minister have not been kept. Manjhi has expressed his displeasure with the NDA for the second time in a short period of time. He charged the alliance with “cheating” his party in earlier elections.

According to news agency PTI, which cited sources, NDA officials minimized Manjhi’s remarks, claiming that they were motivated by rivalry with Chirag Paswan, the head of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), who has become well-known as another Dalit politician from Bihar.

Mrityunay Tiwari, a spokesman for the RJD, urged Manjhi to step down from the government if he really supports Dalit empowerment. Tiwari said that Manjhi’s present stance is a consequence of the BJP’s strategic worries and encouraged him to join the RJD’s struggle for social justice, which is being spearheaded by Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav.