Backed by the Hindustani Awam Morcha, which he launched recently, Jitan Ram Manjhi is gearing up to take on his mentor-tuned-rival Nitish Kumar by “exposing his real face” through public meetings across Bihar. He has also been taking tips from political heavy weights in the State such as Jagannath Mishra and Shivanand Tiwari.
On March 9, Mr. Manjhi and Morcha leaders will observe a fast on the Gandhi Maidan here to protest the cancellation by Mr. Nitish Kumar of 33 decisions taken by his government.
Mr. Manjhi will begin his month-long series of public meetings from Muzaffarpur on March 16.
“Before that, we’ll organise meetings of our party leaders at the divisional level, and we’ve already started the process,” said Brishen Patel, a Manjhi loyalist and former minister. The campaign would culminate in a rally in Patna on April 17-18.
Morcha leaders told The Hindu that they were considering various options on pre- or post-poll alliances. “Whatever be our future course, we will challenge Mr. Nitish Kumar and expose him and his arrogance everywhere,” said a leader.
Mr. Manjhi is in regular contact with Dr. Jagannath Mishra, a former Chief Minister, and Shivanand Tiwari, a former Rajya Sabha member and long-time political adviser for both Mr. Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad, who was expelled from the JD(U) recently. “Besides, we’re getting covert support from the BJP, a big chunk of rebel JD(U) leaders and some RJD leaders,” a Morcha leader said.
Political observers say the Morcha could affect the prospects of the ruling JD(U) in many seats. Of the 243 seats, 40 are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. In over 100 seats, the Dalits, Mr. Manjhi’s community, have a significant presence.
Through welfare measures, Mr. Nitish Kumar had for long tried to nurture the Dalits, except the Paswans. But during his nine-month rule, Mr. Manjhi claims to have done much more than Mr. Nitish Kumar for the uplift of the community.
