Nitish Kumar fills in Manjhi-sized gap in Cabinet, brings in Mushahar leader Ratnesh Sada

While inducting Sada Friday, Nitish indicated that the doors of the MGB were closed to the HAM (S), which is seen as flirting with the BJP again. On the HAM (S)’s claims that it was left with no choice as the JD(U) wanted it to merge with them, Nitish said: “We asked Jitan Ram Manjhi to merge his party with the JD(U) because he had met several BJP leaders recently. We asked him either to merge with us or quit the MGB. We also had apprehensions about Manjhi leaking details of the upcoming June 23 meeting of Opposition parties.”

Sada belongs to Kosi region, which comprises Madhepura, Saharsa and Supaul. A rickshaw puller in his youth, he rose up the ladder in politics because of his oratory and organisational skills.

Mahishi block JD (U) president Manoj Shah said Sada had a pull politically due to his “connect with the people”. “Sada contested his first election in 2005 from a Samajwadi Party ticket. Though he lost the election, he caught the attention of Nitish Kumar when the CM was looking to cultivate a Mahadalit (a conglomeration of 21 Scheduled Castes) constituency”.

Sada was mentored by Mahishi’s former JD(U) MLA, Gunjeshwar Sah. Sada’s organisational skills were first seen on display in 2010 when he organised a rally of Mushahars ahead of the 2010 Assembly polls.

Impressed with Sada, the JD (U) gave him a ticket from the adjoining Sonbarsa Assembly segment, which became a reserved seat after delimitation in 2009. Sada won it in 2010 and went on to retain the seat in 2015 and 2020. Though Sonbarsa (Saharsa) has a sizeable Mushahar and Paswan votes, Sada is said to be also popular among upper caste Rajput voters in his constituency.

A JD(U) leader told The Indian Express: “Bihar CM Nitish Kumar made Ratnesh a minister before Manjhi could play the victim card among his community. In any case, Manjhi cannot claim to be a pan-Bihar Mushahar leader as he has negligible influence in Seemanchal (Araria, Purnia, Katihar and Kishanganj) and Kosi region, where Mushahars bear surnames of Sada and Rishidev and Hajra.”