It was a day of high drama in Patna. On Saturday morning, Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Manjhi went to meet Nitish Kumar, Sharad Yadav and other senior leaders of the Janata Dal (United). For 90 minutes, journalists waited outside to see if the JD(U) would find a way to quell Majhi's rebellion.
Eight months ago, Manjhi had been hand-picked by Nitish Kumar to take his place as the chief minister. At that time, Manjhi was seen as a puppet leader. But within no time, Majhi proved that he had a mind of his own. After weeks of speculation that Manjhi would be asked to step down, the Dalit leader from the Musahar community showed that he would not go down without a fight.
After the attempts at reconciliation failed, he called for a state cabinet meeting in the afternoon. A resolution authorising him to recommend the dissolution of Bihar assembly was moved. Only seven ministers supported the resolution and about 20 opposed it. But that did not deter Manjhi from going ahead and making the recommendation to the governor.
Damage control attempts
Stepping in swiftly to control the damage, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav called a meeting of the JD(U) legislature party. Manjhi had declared earlier that he would not attend the "unauthorised" meeting. Both he and his supporters stayed away. But the meeting was attended by majority of the party legislators. Ninety seven out of 111 party MLAs elected Nitish Kumar as their new leader.
Soon after his election, Nitish Kumar declared, “I will lead from the front. I accept this challenge. We have the numbers and if needed, we will parade our supporters anywhere. We will stake claim to form the government. The resolution authorising the chief minister to recommend the dissolution of the assembly is not a decision of the majority as most of the ministers opposed it.”
At least 19 ministers of Manjhi's cabinet, who are Nitish loyalists, have written a letter to the President and Governor urging them not to entertain any recommendation of dissolving the Assembly as this proposal has not been passed by the cabinet.
“A political conspiracy had been hatched by the BJP to break JD(U),” said party leader Sharad Yadav. He has sought time from Keshri Nath Tripathi, the West Bengal governor who is holding additional charge of Bihar, to stake claim for the formation of the new government by replacing Manjhi.
Caretaker government likely
The ball is now in the court of the Raj Bhavan. If the governor accepts Manjhi's recommendation and dissolves Bihar assembly, the state could either see a caretaker government until elections, or might go under President's Rule.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been making overtures to Manjhi, went into huddle with party president Amit Shah in New Delhi. Former Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said the party was keeping open all the options. “We are keeping a close watch and will act accordingly,” he said.
Leaving Patna in turmoil, Manjhi left for Delhi with a group of ministers to attend a prescheduled meeting of the newly formed Niti Aayog. But it isn't policy as much as politics that would feature on his agenda.
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Eight months ago, Manjhi had been hand-picked by Nitish Kumar to take his place as the chief minister. At that time, Manjhi was seen as a puppet leader. But within no time, Majhi proved that he had a mind of his own. After weeks of speculation that Manjhi would be asked to step down, the Dalit leader from the Musahar community showed that he would not go down without a fight.
After the attempts at reconciliation failed, he called for a state cabinet meeting in the afternoon. A resolution authorising him to recommend the dissolution of Bihar assembly was moved. Only seven ministers supported the resolution and about 20 opposed it. But that did not deter Manjhi from going ahead and making the recommendation to the governor.
Damage control attempts
Stepping in swiftly to control the damage, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav called a meeting of the JD(U) legislature party. Manjhi had declared earlier that he would not attend the "unauthorised" meeting. Both he and his supporters stayed away. But the meeting was attended by majority of the party legislators. Ninety seven out of 111 party MLAs elected Nitish Kumar as their new leader.
Soon after his election, Nitish Kumar declared, “I will lead from the front. I accept this challenge. We have the numbers and if needed, we will parade our supporters anywhere. We will stake claim to form the government. The resolution authorising the chief minister to recommend the dissolution of the assembly is not a decision of the majority as most of the ministers opposed it.”
At least 19 ministers of Manjhi's cabinet, who are Nitish loyalists, have written a letter to the President and Governor urging them not to entertain any recommendation of dissolving the Assembly as this proposal has not been passed by the cabinet.
“A political conspiracy had been hatched by the BJP to break JD(U),” said party leader Sharad Yadav. He has sought time from Keshri Nath Tripathi, the West Bengal governor who is holding additional charge of Bihar, to stake claim for the formation of the new government by replacing Manjhi.
Caretaker government likely
The ball is now in the court of the Raj Bhavan. If the governor accepts Manjhi's recommendation and dissolves Bihar assembly, the state could either see a caretaker government until elections, or might go under President's Rule.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been making overtures to Manjhi, went into huddle with party president Amit Shah in New Delhi. Former Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said the party was keeping open all the options. “We are keeping a close watch and will act accordingly,” he said.
Leaving Patna in turmoil, Manjhi left for Delhi with a group of ministers to attend a prescheduled meeting of the newly formed Niti Aayog. But it isn't policy as much as politics that would feature on his agenda.