Jitan Manjhi on way back to BJP? Meeting with Amit Shah adds fuel to fire

Asked if he had met Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, who was also in Delhi for the ongoing national Opposition unity bid, Manjhi said: “I had sought time, but didn’t get any. Whatever he has been doing bodes well for the Opposition. People generally do not take vows in politics, but I have vowed to stay with Nitish Kumar. I believe he has potential to become the PM.”

Despite his explanations, MGB leaders in Bihar did not seem too convinced. At a recent public meeting in Purnea, the Bihar CM had claimed the BJP has been “eyeing” Jitan Ram Manjhi. Cautioning the Dalit leader against a possible BJP attempt to woo him, Nitish had said: “Dekh lijiye, aaj kal aap par unki nazar hai (Be careful, BJP has set their eyes on you these days).”\

Sources close to Manjhi said the HAMS leader isn’t too comfortable within the seven-party MGB coalition. A BJP source added: “Manjhi has long been in touch with us. He is feeling suffocated in the MGB. It’s quite possible the BJP has some plans for the former CM.”

While Nitish Kumar often cites the seven-party Bihar alliance as a successful experiment, worth replicating nationally for the sake of Opposition unity, the BJP has been trying to revive its own alliance, the NDA. It has started “cultivating” small Bihar parties like the LJP (Ram Vilas), the VIP (Vikassheel Insaan Party) and the RLJD (Rashtriya Lok Janta Dal). If it succeeds to rope in Manjhi in the NDA, it can boast of getting two strong Dalit leaders in its fold.

Manjhi’s party, which has four MLAs, does not have a lot of elbow room within the MGB, which enjoys a majority of 164 MLAs in a House of 243 members. Though Manjhi’s son is an MLC and minister, the former CM has long been trying to get another MLC seat or some other respectable position for himself.