Manjhi’s son quits Nitish cabinet, ahead of crucial anti-BJP meet in Patna

The resignation was promptly accepted and a notification to this effect was issued by the cabinet secretariat, people familiar with the matter said.

Former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s son Santosh Kumar Suman Tuesday quit the Nitish Kumar cabinet, alleging “pressure” to merge his Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) with chief minister Kumar’s Janata Dal-United.

Santosh Kumar Suman with father Jitan Ram Manjhi at their Patna residence after quitting the state cabinet on Tuesday. (Santosh Kumar/HT Photo)

Suman, who held the SC and ST welfare portfolio, is the national president of HAM, a party founded by his father, which currently has four seats in the 243-member Bihar assembly. While Suman is a member of the legislative council, Manjhi is a member of legislative assembly.

The resignation was promptly accepted and a notification to this effect was issued by the cabinet secretariat, people familiar with the matter said.

JD-U MLA from Sonbarsa constituency in Saharsa district, Ratnesh Sada, is tipped to be his replacement, which could lead to a cabinet expansion soon.

Sada was called to the chief minister’s residence in the evening. “I got calls from ministers Vijay Choudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav to reach Patna. I have come here. I don’t know any further,” Sada said, when asked about his candidature.

Suman’s resignation comes days ahead of the keenly anticipated meeting of prominent leaders from across the country scheduled in Patna for June 23, following months of hectic efforts by Nitish Kumar towards forging a broader coalition to challenge the ruling BJP in the 2024 parliamentary elections.

“I have sent my resignation to the chief minister and personally met Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (senior JD-U leader and minister) to explain my point. We are, though, not pulling out of the Mahagathbandhan,” Suman told reporters, referring to the ruling alliance in Bihar.

“There was no option left for us, as the JD-U wanted to merge HAM with it. It was not acceptable, as we could not sacrifice our party. That meant I should quit,” he said.

“It is for the CM to decide whether we are kept in the Mahagathbandhan or expelled. We will decide accordingly. But in view of JD-U’s proposal, I had to take a decision to save my party from extinction,” Suman said.

Minus HAM, the Mahagathbandhan, which also includes Congress and the Left, still has close to 160 members, against the 122 needed for a simple majority.

Soon after the HAM announcement, JD-U president Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh, deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and JD-U leader and finance minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary reached the CM’s residence.

On speculation that he might join the BJP-led alliance, Suman said no decision has been taken so far. “My father had categorically said he would remain with Nitish Kumar, but this never meant we should merge our party and end its existence. The future strategy will be made after consultations with party leaders in the wake of the new situation,” he said.

HAM had contested 2020 assembly polls in Bihar as part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Months later, the party quit the NDA and joined the Mahagathbandhan.

Of late, Jitan Ram Manjhi has been taking digs at CM Nitish Kumar on several issues, especially the liquor prohibition that is in place in Bihar since April 2016.

In February, he had also met union home minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah.

Manjhi also seemed upset over not being invited for the June 23 meet. “I don’t know what they think of me,” he had told reporters when asked if he would attend the meet.

HAM has also been demanding at least five Lok Sabha seats to contest in Bihar in the 2024 parliamentary elections.

Meanwhile, Leshi Singh, a minister and a senior leader of the JD(U), reminded Manjhi that “it was because of the blessings of Nitish Kumar that he rose to the chief minister’s chair”.

The reference was to the development in 2014, when Nitish Kumar stepped down as CM, owning moral responsibility for the JD-U’s drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls. Manjhi, then a low-key minister and a JD-U leader, was handpicked by Kumar as his successor.

However, his eight-month-long stint as the chief minister was marked by many controversies and factional feuds within the party and he revolted when Kumar decided to return as the chief minister.

A floor test was ordered but Manjhi chose to resign as CM, realising that he did not have sufficient support, and later on quit the JD(U) to form HAM. He started off as an NDA partner in the assembly polls held later that year, but has switched alliances on more than one occasion since then.

RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari, whose party helms the Mahagathbandhan, said, “Jitan Ram Manjhi has been known for his pressure tactics. Though our government will not be affected by this decision, this is a move they will regret.”

Social analyst NK Choudhary said Manjhi has timed his move well. “Ahead of elections, all parties flex their muscles. Manjhi may not be a big player, but at a time when Nitish Kumar is striving for opposition unity across the country, a setback on the home turf would not go down well for him.”