Chirag vs Manjhi -- Duel of Dalits disorders NDA

Bihar's Dalit leaders, Manjhi and Chirag, vie for prominence within NDA, revealing tensions as they seek greater influence ahead of elections.

Two most prominent Dalit faces in Bihar politics -- Jitan Ram Manjhi and Chirag Paswan -- are central ministers in the Modi cabinet. This must be enough for people to believe that there is no rift in the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and both these leaders are firmly behind the leadership of chief minister Nitish Kumar, asserted JDU MLC and party spokesman Neeraj Kumar on Wednesday.

Chirag vs Manjhi -- Duel of Dalits disorders NDA

The need for such a clarification, however, only unveils the discomfiture that the NDA’s Dalit partners have brought upon the bloc at a time when the elections have entered the battle mode. The statement follows growing speculations that the two Dalit leaders are vying for bigger share in seat-sharing within the NDA and are also aiming to prove who is the number 1 Dalit leader of Bihar. They don’t even shy away from taking potshots at each other.

While Chirag has been fanning the state to exhibit his strength and has repeatedly claimed to contest the upcoming assembly election, Manjhi has called him someone “lacking in maturity”. It’s Manjhi’s message to NDA that he won’t play second fiddle in the alliance.

“A leader cannot claim only for the Scheduled Castes. A leader has to work for all the deprived and marginalised. It cannot be for one section only,” said Manjhi in response to Chirag’s ‘Bahujan Bhim Samagam’ organised on Sunday in Nalanda and Rajgir.

Manjhi also said that in Bihar, there are 23 Dalit sub-castes but only from among them are reaping maximum benefits, hinting that Dalit leadership has to take all along and make ways for everyone to grow.

On his part, Chirag is trying to address all issues of Dalits, including their security. “As long as I am there, no wrong can happen to Dalits,” he said in Sunday’s gathering. Interestingly, he didn’t clearly say that he would contest the elections, raising some doubts about clarity of his mind. His brother-in-law Arun Bharti, an MP, says that there is a growing demand from party workers in Shahabad region that Chirag should contest Assembly elections from there and play a decisive role in the state politics. But, Chirag remains indecisive.

The bickering between the Dalit leaders is providing easy ammunition for the Opposition RJD that terms the rivalry as the “reflection of intense infighting within the NDA”. However, the reality is that all parties, including RJD, are trying to woo Dalits and are coping with issues of their own to achieve this desired task that is pivotal to come through an important election for all of them.

Dalits, according to the 2011 census, constitute 16% of the Bihar population. They are believed to have a decisive presence in around 15 Lok Sabha constituencies and 40-50 assembly segments.

Analysts feel that Dalits are losing their strength because they are too scattered among a number of leaders and thus instead of them leading their own flock, others are eying to take their advantage.

“However, the problem with Dalit votes is that they are fragmented and have different political affiliations. This has resulted in different political parties having their own Dalit leaders, but so far none has been able to emerge as a unifying force for Dalits to lend them strength. Bihar Congress president Rajesh Ram and Jan Suraaj Party state chief Manoj Bharti are also from Dalit community. JD-U minister Ashok Choudhary is also another known Dalit face. BJP and RJD also have quite a few Dalit leaders. BSP of Mayawati is also flexing its muscles in Bihar, but presence of so many leaders sans any unifying face leaves space wide open for others to take lead. With chief minister Nitish Kumar not being in a good shape and no clue of his post-election move, everyone is sniffing a chance,” said DM Diwakar, former director of AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies.

Even though Dalit leaders may still have to forge a united front, Dalits have been assertive and have been pressing for their demands actively. That’s why the atrocities against them see immediate attention and all national and state leaders scramble to register their solidarity with them. One example is here of a recent and still burning controversy of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav allegedly showing disrespect to Dalit icon Babsaheb Bimrao Ambedkar on his 78th birthday. The BJP has been cashing it ever since and the RJD has to clarify it time and again.

As the election moves forward, more and more leaders will court Dalits and many Dalit leaders will portray themselves as the beacon of the community and beneficiary of their votes.