Bihar political news

• • • Looking for a new U-turn to BJP, Jitan Ram Manjhi gets set for another flip-flop on Nitish Kumar Looking for a new U-turn to BJP, Jitan Ram Manjhi gets set for another flip-flop on Nitish Kumar Soon after the resignation of HAM(S) founder’s son Santosh Suman as a minister, JD(U) and RJD declare that the former is no longer a Mahagathbandhan ally. When the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) founder and former Bihar chief minister, Jitan Ram Manjhi, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capitalon April 14, Bihar CM and Janata Dal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar was also in Delhi, meeting top Opposition leaders as part of their efforts to create a united front against the ruling Narendra Modi-led BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Manjhi later said he met Shah to demand Bharat Ratna for Bihar’s “mountain man” Dasrath Manjhi and the state’s former CMs, Srikrishna Singh and Karpoori Thakur. With its four MLAs the HAM(S) has been a minor player in the grand alliance, which accounts for 164 of the Assembly’s total 243 members, with Manjhi thus not having much bargaining power vis-a-vis Nitish. After his meeting with Shah, Manjhi issued a string of statements over the last two months that betrayed his growing unease with the Mahagathbandhan. First, he said his son, Santosh Kumar Suman, the then SC/ST welfare minister in the Nitish Cabinet, who has postgraduate and doctorate degrees, was “more qualified” and even “more deserving CM candidate” than RJD leader and Dep...

Hectic parleys have been taking place in Bihar as the State eyes a political storm this week, with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar playing hardball with ally BJP and garnering support among the Opposition parties. Rumours are abuzz that the JDU boss will snap ties with the saffron party, (a re-run of his 2013 strategy), and form a government with his former Mahagatbandhan allies RJD and Congress. The Nitish Kumar-led party has accused the BJP of conspiring to use its former president RCP Singh to orchestrate the party's downfall in Bihar. RCP Singh's perceived closeness to BJP has irked the JDU, which went on to level corruption allegations against him and hinted that BJP was planning to use him like Chirag Paswan. The JDU-NDA rift comes as a benefactor to the Rashtriya Janata Dal, which is eyeing a comeback in Bihar after its successful run in the 2020 assembly elections. Incidentally, Lalu Yadav's party has called a meeting of its legislators today, amid speculation about a possible reunion with JDU. RJD 'closely watching' JDU-NDA rift While the BJP is in damage control mode with the party's high command staying in constant touch with Nitish Kumar, the latter has gained support among the Opposition parties. On Monday, the Congress, RJD, and the Left parties extended support to Nitish Kumar if he breaks ties with the saffron party. Speaking to Republic, RJD's Manoj Jha stated that party chief Tejashwi Yadav is closely watching the political crisis in Bihar's ruling dispensati...