Even before the political forum launched by former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on the weekend could start its campaign against the ruling Janata Dal-United, one of his associates has asserted that the new group will march in tandem with the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state.
“Though the final decision has not yet been taken, there is a general consensus among us that we will contest state assembly elections together with the BJP,” Gyanendra Singh Gyanu, the suspended Janata Dal-United MLA from Barh constituency and an important member of Manjhi's group, told Scroll.in on Sunday.
But Manjhi quit as Bihar chief minister on February 20, after a power tussle with his former mentor, JD-U chief Nitish Kumar. Manjhi had been appointed to the position in May after Kumar resigned as a gesture of responsibility for the party's poor showing in the Lok Sabha elections. In the tumult leading up to Manjhi's resignation, the JD-U suspended eight of his loyalists who refused to resign from his cabinet.
'Insulting the poor'
On Saturday, Manjhi floated the Hindustan Awam Morcha along with several supporters and associates, including seven former ministers and the eight suspended JD-U MLAs. The former Bihar chief minister, a member of the low-caste Musahar group, said that rich people had been in the habit of insulting the poor.
Though it is hardly a secret that Manjhi and his associates have been receiving support from the BJP, the two sides have constantly maintained the facade of acting independently of each other. Gyanendra Singh's statement calls that bluff.
In fact, Manjhi cleverly maintained this deception even while launching the HAM. He mocked at JD-U leader Nitish Kumar for shaking hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the wedding reception of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad’s daughter last week. “When I met Narendra Modi to discuss a canal from Ganga near Chunar in Uttar Pradesh to southern districts of Bihar, it was touted as my crossing over to the BJP," he said. "But when Nitish Kumar shakes hands with Modi then nothing is said."
Role to be determined
The BJP, however, is divided about what kind of role it would expect Manjhi and his associates to play ahead of the assembly polls due in November. One section believes that the party would benefit if Manjhi and his associates contested the elections as a separate political entity since this would cut into the vote base of the ruling JD-U-led alliance, according to a senior BJP leader in Bihar. “But the other section favours inducting them into the BJP and projecting Manjhi as the Mahadalit face of the party,” he added.
On their part, Manjhi and his associates, after having launched a forum, are going slow on the formation of a political party. “The Manch will soon launch a massive campaign to expose Nitish Kumar’s anti-Dalit face,” said Gyanendra Singh. “This campaign will be rolled out in three phases." In the first phase, it will organise campaigns in different commissionaries; in the second, a district-level campaign will be held; and in the third phase, meetings will be conducted in assembly constituencies, he said.
As for the formation of a new political party, Singh said, “For the next two months, we have decided to concentrate only on state wide campaign against Nitish Kumar. Any decision regarding a political party would be taken only after that.”
We welcome your comments at
letters@scroll.in.
“Though the final decision has not yet been taken, there is a general consensus among us that we will contest state assembly elections together with the BJP,” Gyanendra Singh Gyanu, the suspended Janata Dal-United MLA from Barh constituency and an important member of Manjhi's group, told Scroll.in on Sunday.
But Manjhi quit as Bihar chief minister on February 20, after a power tussle with his former mentor, JD-U chief Nitish Kumar. Manjhi had been appointed to the position in May after Kumar resigned as a gesture of responsibility for the party's poor showing in the Lok Sabha elections. In the tumult leading up to Manjhi's resignation, the JD-U suspended eight of his loyalists who refused to resign from his cabinet.
'Insulting the poor'
On Saturday, Manjhi floated the Hindustan Awam Morcha along with several supporters and associates, including seven former ministers and the eight suspended JD-U MLAs. The former Bihar chief minister, a member of the low-caste Musahar group, said that rich people had been in the habit of insulting the poor.
Though it is hardly a secret that Manjhi and his associates have been receiving support from the BJP, the two sides have constantly maintained the facade of acting independently of each other. Gyanendra Singh's statement calls that bluff.
In fact, Manjhi cleverly maintained this deception even while launching the HAM. He mocked at JD-U leader Nitish Kumar for shaking hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the wedding reception of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad’s daughter last week. “When I met Narendra Modi to discuss a canal from Ganga near Chunar in Uttar Pradesh to southern districts of Bihar, it was touted as my crossing over to the BJP," he said. "But when Nitish Kumar shakes hands with Modi then nothing is said."
Role to be determined
The BJP, however, is divided about what kind of role it would expect Manjhi and his associates to play ahead of the assembly polls due in November. One section believes that the party would benefit if Manjhi and his associates contested the elections as a separate political entity since this would cut into the vote base of the ruling JD-U-led alliance, according to a senior BJP leader in Bihar. “But the other section favours inducting them into the BJP and projecting Manjhi as the Mahadalit face of the party,” he added.
On their part, Manjhi and his associates, after having launched a forum, are going slow on the formation of a political party. “The Manch will soon launch a massive campaign to expose Nitish Kumar’s anti-Dalit face,” said Gyanendra Singh. “This campaign will be rolled out in three phases." In the first phase, it will organise campaigns in different commissionaries; in the second, a district-level campaign will be held; and in the third phase, meetings will be conducted in assembly constituencies, he said.
As for the formation of a new political party, Singh said, “For the next two months, we have decided to concentrate only on state wide campaign against Nitish Kumar. Any decision regarding a political party would be taken only after that.”
