BJP gets realistic on Jitan Ram Manjhi, says crisis due to infighting in JD(U)

NEW DELHI: BJP seems to have scaled down its encouragement to Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who has rebelled against his JD(U) party. BJP leaders from Bihar told ET that the crisis had arisen from infighting in the ruling party.

“The fight is between Manjhi and Nitish Kumar. From the very beginning, BJP has felt that it wasn’t wise of JD(U) to harass Manjhi, since he belongs to community which has been much oppressed. If Manjhi breaks away, BJP may back him,” ex-Union minister CP Thakur said. “We are more worried about the administration that has come to a standstill,” he added.

But what Thakur didn’t say, his colleagues in Delhi added: BJP wasn’t interested in backing Manjhi by propping up his government. Instead, the governor was likely to call Kumar for a floor test. “If we helped in engineering a split, then Kumar would gain the moral high ground,” said a senior Bihar leader. The lessons of the elections in Delhi was also in BJP’s mind. “Manjhi may join either BJP or the Lok Janshakti Party closer to polls,” said a source in BJP.