Poll| In Bihar elections, will Manjhi's support seal the deal for BJP?

Former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has decided to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), ahead of the upcoming assembly election in Bihar. In evenly matched Bihar polls, will Manjhi's support seal the deal for BJP?

Former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has decided to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), ahead of the upcoming assembly election in Bihar.

Bihar-chief-minister-Jitan-Ram-Manjhi-and-his-one-time-mentor-Nitish-Kumar-are-locked-in-a-bitter-tussle-over-power

The announcement came a few days after Lalu Prasad's RJD and JD(U) decided to contest the September-October polls together in alliance with the Congress. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is the chief ministerial face of the six party alliance.

Nitish's protégé-turned-foe, Manjhi comes from a community classified as Mahadalit (extremely backward Scheduled Castes) that JD(U) cultivated as its committed voters over the last decade. SCs constitute about 16% of Bihar's population, and 21 of the total 23 castes classified as SCs are Mahadalits.