Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad on February 10 sent his emissary to the residence of Jitan Ram Manjhi, former Bihar Chief Minister and founder of the Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S), a key player ahead of floor test on in the State Assembly on February 12.
Important constituents of Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance), and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) MLA Mehboob Alam, visited Mr. Manjhi’s residence, and both had closed door meetings lasting nearly half-an-hour. Mr. Prasad has reportedly offered Mr. Manjhi, who has four MLAs backing him, the Chief Minister’s post, if the Opposition formed the government in Bihar.
Bihar Floor test Feb 12 LIVE updates
Five days ago, Mr. Manjhi had expressed his disappointment over the allotment of the portfolio he had held previously to his son, Santosh Kumar Suman, in the newly formed National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. While addressing a public meeting in Gaya, Mr. Manjhi had said that from 1984 to 2013, he had always been made the Scheduled Caste Welfare Department Minister, and now his son had also been given the same Ministry. He questioned why the Road Construction Department and Water Resources Department were never given to his son.
Mr. Alam, however, did not say his meeting pertained to the floor test.
“I had just come here to inquire about his health and he [Mr. Manjhi] is totally fit now and we are sure that he will play well. He knows how to play because he has been raising the voice of the poor people, and today also, I requested him to keep working for the people of the downtrodden society,” Mr. Alam said as he came out of 2M Strand Road, Mr. Manjhi’s official residence.
Later, the HAM(S) issued a whip to its four MLAs, asking them to remain present in the House on the day of confidence motion.
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“The party has issued a Whip to all the MLAs to remain present during the trust vote. The Whip is not related to voting in favour of or against the government. The Whip related to voting is issued on the day of the confidence motion,” Danish Rizwan, Mr. Manjhi’s political adviser, told The Hindu.
Quite like the RJD, the ruling JD(U) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are also not leaving any stone unturned to keep their flock together. The JD(U) on Saturday organised lunch for all its MLAs at the residence of Cabinet Minister Shravan Kumar, reportedly for the head count. However, only 38 of the 45 MLAs attended the event.
The seven JD(U) MLAs who missed the lunch were Beema Bharti, Dilip Rai, Sanjeev Kumar, Shalini Mishra, Aman Bhushan Hazari, Anirudh Yadav, and Sudharshan Kumar. Mr. Shravan Kumar, however, said that the invitees who missed the lunch had personal reasons for their absence and had informed the party beforehand.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also attended the lunch event briefly. He, however, did not speak to the media.
While the Congress shifted its MLAs to Hyderabad, the BJP has shifted all its MLAs to Bodh Gaya on the pretext of a “training camp”. The RJD, too, convened its legislative party meeting at the residence of former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav to discuss its strategy for the floor test.
All 79 RJD MLAs have been asked to stay at 5, Deshratna Marg, Mr. Tejashwi Yadav’s official residence in Patna, till the floor test. They will reach the Assembly on 12 February directly from here. They are reportedly not allowed to go outside, and their belongings have been brought from their respective houses.
A party or alliance needs the support of at least 122 MLAs in the 243-member Bihar Assembly to prove its majority. Going by the numbers, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has 128 MLAs, including 78 from the BJP, 45 from the JD(U), four from the HAM(S), and independent MLA Sumit Singh. The grand alliance has 114 MLAs, including the RJD’s 79, the Congress’ 19, and 16 from the Left parties.
