JOIN USDefiant Manjhi refuses to make way for Nitish
The repeated efforts of Janata Dal (United) to replace Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi with Nitish Kumar went kaput on Thursday after a defiant Manjhi refused to make way for his mentor.
Sources in the ruling JD(U) said in last 48 hours, party president Sharad Yadav and former chief minister Nitish Kumar made frantic efforts to placate Manjhi and asked him “to voluntarily step down and offer the mantle to his predecessor”.
But a belligerent Manjhi, who, of late, has carved a niche for himself in the caste-ridden Bihar and where his community – the Mahadalits – play a significant role, refused to oblige his political masters.
Aware of the fact that 23 of the 115 MLAs were in favour of Manjhi continuing as CM, the top leadership of the party reportedly told Manjhi that Lalu and Mulayam, too, were in favour of Nitish taking over the reins of Bihar and hence he (Manjhi) should quit on his own without creating any political instability.
JD(U) sources even said that a “combo offer” was made to Manjhi where he would get a key party post and induction of one of his kin into the new Cabinet. But a defiant Manjhi still refused to budge.
Meanwhile, Manjhi got a boost on Thursday when Union Minister and a fellow Dalit colleague, Ram Vilas Paswan, stood by him. “If Manjhi is removed forcibly, the JD(U) government will collapse within no time,” said Paswan in Patna.
Earlier, former deputy chief minister Sushil Modi and Union ministers Uma Bharti, Ram Kripal Yadav and Rajiv Pratap Rudy, too, had expressed their solidarity with Manjhi with Modi going to the extent of offering BJP support if Manjhi was forced to quit.
The backing of NDA leaders, besides JD(U) rebels standing by Manjhi, has put Nitish in a tough spot where he is finding it extremely difficult to get rid of his protégé. Meanwhile, a meeting of the JDULP has been convened in Patna on February 7, which will take stock of the emerging political situation.
Within hours of Yadav calling the JD(U)LP meeting, Manjhi questioned the right of the party president to convene the meeting. “Only the CM can convene the JD(U)LP meeting” Manjhi said.