Patna: All parties in Bihar are on overdrive to woo Dalits though no elections are round the corner.

Former Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary, who had raised the issue of Dalits being denied quota, on Friday changed tune to stress he was still with the JDU and had faith in chief minister Nitish Kumar's leadership. The JDU's two Dalit faces - Choudhary and Shyam Rajak - expressed their happiness at the government decision to introduce quota in private firms to which government jobs are outsourced.

Nitish's decision has for the moment stopped the RJD's quest to find a viable Dalit face in its ranks. The RJD's Shivanand Tiwari had earlier backed Choudhary and Rajak, who criticised the Centre for allegedly trying to take away reservation from Dalits.

The RJD, which is desperate to add to its Muslim-Yadav voter base, lacks a Dalit face. The only recognisable Dalit face - Ramai Ram, who joined Sharad Yadav's group - had lost as a JDU candidate in the 2015 Assembly polls.

Not surprisingly, the party saw an opportunity in the statement by Choudhary and Rajak. "It is too early, but we know we can tap these two Dalit faces in future," said an RJD MLA. The statement by the two saw Dalit politicians jumping into the battle of words.

Former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi came to Nitish's defence, saying Rajak and Choudhary had nothing to do with Dalit uplift and were grinding their personal agenda. Former Congress president Ashok Choudhary too backed Nitish when JDU leaders applauded him for the social and economic development of Dalits during his tenure. "The fact that nearly all Dalit leaders decided to join in, indicates they are gearing up for their future strategy," said a JDU leader.

Bihar has a 16 per cent Dalit population of which Paswans constitute 4 per cent. The remaining 12 per cent include 21 sections (which the Nitish government has categorised as Mahadalits). Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan is considered a leader of the Paswans but there are no clear leaders for other sections like Chamars, Musahars and Pasis.

Of late, Manjhi has merged as a known Dalit face though he failed to deliver in the 2015 Assembly polls. All known Dalit faces are with the NDA. "However, once elections are near, there will be a rumbling as Dalit leaders will bargain for better positions in rival camps. The rumblings triggered by the statement of the two JDU leaders is just an indication," said the JDU leader.