Defiant Manjhi may be expelled from JD(U)

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who has refused to step down from the post, may be expelled from the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) on Saturday.

“If Manjhi remains defiant, he may be expelled and then Nitish Kumar may be elected as the new leader on Saturday evening,” said a source.

The war of attrition between Manjhi and his predecessor Nitish took an ugly turn on Friday when Manjhi’s supporters took to the streets and bashed up Nitish’s men at the party office here.

The clashes took place a day ahead of the crucial Janata Dal(United) Legislature Party (JDULP) meeting. The meet will formally elect Nitish as the new leader. 

Sources in the ruling party said that once the JDULP decides on Nitish as its leader, he will stake claim to form the government.

A belligerent Manjhi now runs the risk of being expelled from the party if he continues to refuse to fall in line and make way for his predecessor. 

“Disciplinary action will be initiated against Manjhi if he continues to defy party president Sharad Yadav’s directive,” said JD(U) general secretary and Rajya Sabha member K C Tyagi. Meanwhile, Manjhi, who was on a day-long tour to Jamui, Saharsa and Khagaria, described Tyagi as “Yamraj” and Nitish as “Bhishma Pitamaha”. 

“My do-or-die battle has just begun. The Mahabharat battle took place because Bhishma remained quiet. Here, too, Nitish is behaving like Bhishma,” said Manjhi amid wide cheers from his supporters in Saharsa.
Manjhi, too, has convened a parallel JDULP meet on February 20, the day when the Bihar Budget session begins. 

“Sharad ji has no right to convene the JDULP meet. It’s an unconstitutional step because only I, as the chief minister, can convene such a meet,” Manjhi reiterated, showing no signs of truce.

State JD(U) president Bashishtha Narayan Singh, however, pooh-poohed Manjhi’s assertions. 

“He will not have to wait till February 20. Everything will be decided and settled on Saturday itself,” said Singh.

He discounted reports that Manjhi enjoyed support of a large chunk of ministers and legislators. “If a couple of ministers and MLAs are backing Manjhi, that does not mean he enjoys the confidence of majority of party legislators,” averred Singh.

In the meantime, five ministers – Nitish Mishra, Brishen Patel, Narendra Singh, Mahachandra Prasad Singh and Vinay Bihari visited the chief minister’s residence and expressed their loyalty towards Manjhi. This was followed by JD (U) rebel MLAs led by Gyanendra Singh Gyanu swearing by Manjhi. “We will not allow Nitish to take over the mantle again. If required, we will seek support from the BJP, but will thwart Nitish’s design to replace Manjhi,” said Gyanu.

“Has Manjhi done something wrong? Or has he acted in an unethical way? There should be some reason to replace him. What Nitish-Sharad camp is doing is simply not acceptable to majority of the party legislators,” Nitish Mishra, the Rural Development Minister and a key supporter of the Chief Minister, told Deccan Herald here on Friday.