Jitan Ram Manjhi meets Narendra Modi; asserts he is opposed to Nitish Kumar

NEW DELHI: Former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi met Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading to speculation that a tie-up between his newly-launched party and the BJP-led NDA may be in the works. However, Manjhi said he had only discussed the agrarian crisis in Bihar. He has also demanded a CBI inquiry into alleged anomalies in paddy procurement.

Later, Manjhi told reporters that he was open to an alliance with forces which would help him settle scores with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, who had unseated him unceremoniously from the post of CM. He did not rule out an alliance with Lalu Prasad’s RJD either, but underlined that this would be possible only after he breaks his partnership with Kumar.

Prasad had sent feelers to Manjhi to join the coalition. “If there is a need to ally with any party following the election, I will go with a formation which does not include Nitish Kumar,” he told reporters in reply to a question.

BJP — which has LJP and RLSP as partners in Bihar — is keen on having Manjhi on its side in the forthcoming assembly elections in October. Manjhi hails from the Musahar community which account for around 12% Mahadalit voters in Bihar and can play a crucial role in the final outcome or play kingmaker in case of a hung assembly, although the electoral clout of his fledgling outfit is yet to be tested. The saffron party had openly supported him during the last days of his chief ministerial tenure before Nitish Kumar ensured his ouster.

Asked by reporters if he is open to an alliance with BJP, Manjhi gave an ambiguous reply. However, on the issue of joining hands with RJD, Manjhi said if Lalu Prasad walks out of the alliance with JD(U) he would consider it.