Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, former Bihar Chief Minister and founder of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) Jitan Ram Manjhi demanded five seats for his party in the coming election but after meeting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on June 7, he asserted he would remain with Mr. Kumar whether he gets the desired number of seats or not. The very next day on June 8, he met the Governor and thereafter on June 9, his party had a core committee meeting in Patna to chalk out election and organisational strategies.
Recently, Mr. Manjhi also had a meeting with Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah in Delhi.
The mercurial Mr. Manjhi has been keeping everyone guessing on what would be his next political move. “We want at least five seats, which is very less as we are preparing on all 40 parliamentary seats in the State. It would be good if Chief Minister Nitish Kumar gives us a respectable share of seats and that would be better for the alliance as well,” Mr. Manjhi told media persons in Patna on June 4. The five Lok Sabha seats his party is said to have sought are Gaya, Jamui, Aurangabad, Samastipur and Purnia. He added that “whichever side the HAM(S) supports, it wins the poll”. Mr. Manjhi’s party HAM(S) is currently part of the seven-party mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) government in Bihar.
After his June 4 press meet, Mr. Manjhi met State Education Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, who is said to be close to Mr. Kumar. Later he met Mr. Kumar on June 7. “We are in the mahagathbandhan and would remain with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar irrespective of the number of seats our party gets in the upcoming Lok Sabha poll”, he said.
Meets Governor
However, the next day on June 8, Mr. Manjhi drove straight to the Raj Bhawan to meet Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. Coming out of the meeting, he said he had gone to meet the Governor to “discuss the issue of the crumbling education system and the scams in estimates for government tenders for construction of roads, buildings, bridges etc, currently rampant in the State”. Mr. Manjhi also supported the BJP’s demand for a CBI inquiry into the ₹1,716-crore bridge collapse on the Ganga between Sultanganj-Aguwani ghat in Khagaria on June 4.
Earlier, Mr. Manjhi’s meeting with Mr. Shah in Delhi in the second week of April created flutter in the ruling mahagathbandhan. Though, after coming out of the meeting, he told media persons that his loyalties would remain with Mr. Kumar. “I had also come to demand ‘Bharat Ratna’ for mountain man of Bihar Dashrath Manjhi and former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur”, Mr. Manjhi said.
On June 9, Mr. Manjhi’s party HAM(S) had a core committee meeting to mull over party’s strategy for the coming elections and its organisation. The party is also to resume its garib sampark yatra (make connection with poor people ) campaign soon. “Our party leader has already said that we will remain with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and be a part of mahagathbandhan”, said HAM(S) leaders.
Mr. Manjhi’s son Santosh Kumar Suman is currently Minister of SC/ST Welfare department in the Nitish Cabinet. The HAM(S) has four legislators in the 243-member Assembly and one member in the State Council, Mr. Suman. Political analysts in Bihar said Mr. Manjhi’s political moves are “unpredictable” and he waits for the opportune moment to get the maximum bargain. “Being a senior politician of the State Mr. Manjhi knows how to exert pressure tactics on mainstream parties to garner maximum number of seats for the polls. Now, if he fails to get on board with Nitish in the coming Lok Sabha poll, he would immediately switch his loyalty to the BJP, currently the biggest rival of Mr. Kumar”, political analyst Ajay Kumar told The Hindu.
