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Manjhi meets Modi, hints at alliance sans Nitish

Floats his own party after unceremonious JD(U) exit
Last Updated 28 May 2015, 20:45 IST

The veil on BJP likely having a truck with former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi for Bihar Assembly polls appears to be lifting, with the Maha-Dalit leader clearly stating on Thursday that he will support a platform opposed to the Janata Dal (United).

Manjhi, who had quit the JD(U) owing to differences with his mentor and present Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here in the morning a couple of days after BJP chief Amit Shah did not rule out induction more allies to the NDA for contesting the polls slated to take place after about four months.

After meeting Modi at his office-cum-residence at 7 RCR at around 11 am, Manjhi said, “if there is a need to ally with any party following the election, I will go with a formation which does not include Nitish Kumar”.

Manjhi had floated his own Hindustani Awam Morcha Party after his unceremonious exit from the JD(U).

 The former chief minister, however, did not open his card when asked about RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s attempts to woo him. Manjhi said the Lalu and Nitish Kumar alliance is unlikely to take off because RJD voters are opposed to the Bihar chief minister and the JD(U) does not have mass support base.

BJP chief Amit Shah, in an interview to Deccan Herald, had stated that the NDA is not going to join hands with the RJD while he was open to contesting together with Manjhi given his reach among the Maha-Dalits which form about 18 per cent of vote share. The BJP, however, is not in a hurry to have any understanding with Manjhi given their experience when the former chief minister sought trust vote, said party leaders. He did not work as per the script of the BJP and decided against seeking trust vote in Assembly despite BJP deciding to support him on the floor of the house.

Amit Shah was confident of his party being in a good position in Bihar which will turn out to be a tough battle given the fact that the JD(U) and the RJD are expected to merge and fight elections as one entity to check saffron surge.

“I believe that our (BJP) position is good. Therefore, those who were working against each other for the last 25 years are on one platform now. For 25 years, Nitishji and Laluji were doing politics against each other. Because the BJP is strong, they have no other option but to come together,”
Shah remarked


Manjhi, meanwhile, told reporters that he took up with the prime minister the issue of farmers’ plight in Bihar. Besides, he demanded a CBI inquiry into alleged irregularities in paddy procurement. “Modi listened to the issues. I spoke to him about CBI enquiry, he said he will facilitate it,” Manjhi stated.

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(Published 28 May 2015, 20:45 IST)

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