Jitan Ram Manjhi: From a low profile politician to a dalit icon

PATNA: Who would believe that two PMs and two CMs played a role in creating Brand Manjhi? The former Bihar chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha founder, Jitan Ram Manjhi, has come a long way since he joined politics as a Dalit protégé of former CM Jagannath Mishra in 1980. That was when Indira Gandhi was looking for a few young Dalit faces.

"I interviewed Manjhi, in his late 30s," Mishra told ET. Mishra persuaded Manjhi to quit his P&T job but when he did not make it to the party list for the assembly polls, Mishra rushed to Delhi to tell Gandhi about it.It took a prime ministerial intervention to launch Manjhi's political boat, which after 35 years saw a meteoric rise in his career hen chief minister Nitish Kumar picked him as his successor.

Until then, Manjhi maintained a low profile though he was a minister under seven CMs. But within a few months of taking over as CM, Manjhi asserted himself by handpicking officers and putting Kumar's in cold storage. He chose Dalit officers to lead sensitive departments and displayed political acumen by opening the gates of his home to MLAs who till then had to seek an appointment to meet the CM.

"This was a political stroke that made MLAs very happy. They were able to get officers of their choice in their constituencies. But, it was a danger signal for the Nitish camp," an MLA recalled. Manjhi soon toured the state to expand his popularity. He tartargeted Kumar in public meetings, assertinghis authority and Dalit pride, while alleging Kumar wanted him to be a rubberstamp.

Suspicions that he was being egged on by Kumar's political foes seemed true when Manjhi developed proximity to the NDA. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was generous in giving him audiences, where the CM praised the PM. It led to Manjhi losing his chair only to form the HAM and join the NDA.

He appeared in Modi's Parivartan rallies and kept saying, "Kumar is power-hungry." When Kumar said it was a 'mistake' to make him the CM, Manjhi retorted "it was a blunder", showing his skill at repartee. His popularity among Dalits has left even LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan worried, but Manjhi's greatest test is yet to come. Whether he would emerge a Dalit icon or end up as a passing fad will be known when Bihar elects its new government.