Patna: Former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Friday said his Hindustani Awam Morcha Secular (HAMS) would not insist on contesting the Jehanabad Assembly seat but voiced displeasure over the delay by the NDA in announcing candidates for the three seats where byelections are scheduled next month.

The HAM president had last week said the district unit of his party in Jehanabad had passed a resolution staking claim on the Assembly seat which has fallen vacant upon the death of RJD MLA Mundrika Yadav.

"I realised that my party's desire to contest the seat was leading to some discomfort within the NDA. So we have decided not to stake claim over the seat. I want the NDA to do well and not suffer defeat," Manjhi said.

The HAMS leader, however, added "it is regrettable that we are yet to finalise our candidates for any of the three seats. We should have announced our nominees 15-20 days ago. That way we would have been able to build a tempo in our favour. The opposition appears to have stolen a march over us on this count". PTI