PATNA: former prime minister Jitan ram manjhiOn Friday HAM (S) rekindled its rivalry with the Lok Janshakti Party, warning that it will present candidates against LJP if Ram Vilas PaswanThe party presents candidates to face JD (U) in the Bihar assembly polls, reflecting unrest in the state’s ruling alliance.
The LJP, founded by Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, is an ally of the BJP but is not part of the JD (U) -BJP coalition government in the state where the assembly elections will be held in October-November.
The party, now led by the son of Paswan’s MP Chirag, has often been critical of the Nitish kumar government on a variety of issues ranging from alleged corruption in the public distribution system to road construction and violation of prohibition laws.
There have been media reports that the LJP was unhappy about the return of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (secular) to the NDA fold and for contesting candidates against the JD (U) nominees.
Dalits, who make up about 16 percent of the state’s voters, form the base of support for both the LJP and HAM (S), and a certain amount of jostling between the two parties for a larger share of the electoral pie seemed inevitable after Manjhi’s return. .
“It doesn’t matter who is happy or unhappy (for HAM’s return). We have come here to strengthen Nitish Kumar’s hands and not to get tickets to contest the election.
“We will be forced to open our mouths if Chirag Paswan He continues to issue threats like he will pit candidates against the JD (U) nominees. If that happens, we will also present our candidates against LJP, “said HAM (S) spokesman Danish Rizwan.
The state parliamentary board of the LJP will meet on September 7 and there are indications that it would discuss the issue of “friendly contests” with the JD (U).
Chirag Paswan has often expressed dissatisfaction with the functioning of the Nitish Kumar government and has said that his alliance is with the BJP.
When there were murmurs in the BJP with a section that wanted someone from the party to replace Kumar as the next ministerial head, before the then head of the saffron party. Amit shah He reassured them with his statement stating that the NDA will go to hearings under JD (U) leader Chirag Paswan had said that he will abide by the BJP decision.
Kumar and Chirag Paswan are known to have not spoken to each other in a long time.
Despite the LJP president’s strained relations with the JD (U) and HAM (S), the BJP is happy about Manjhi’s return to the NDA.
“It is now clear that in the assembly elections there will be only two habitually corrupt and traditionally dynastic parties against the NDA. This will help the people decide who will pursue development fairly and whose intention will be to register parcels of land in their name in returning please “, the Principal Deputy Minister Sushil Kumar Modi tweeted in hindi.
He was referring to the alleged transfer of large tracts of land to the family of RJD president Lalu Prasad in exchange for favors when he was Minister of Railways. Son of Lalu and leader of the opposition in the state assembly Tejashwi Yadav He is also a defendant in the case the IWC is investigating.
“After Jitan Ram Manjhi left them, the opposition has become the RJD-Congress Political Corruption Forum (PCF). It is now a hoax to call it a grand alliance,” Modi said in a series of Hindi tweets.
The leader of JD (U) and the Minister of Information and Public Relations, Neeraj Kumar, also welcomed Manjhi to the fold of the NDA, saying that it was in the interest of the state and that the result was that the alliance led by RJD was eliminated in the assault polls. The RJD had gone blank in the last Lok Sabha elections.
Since Dalits make up an important part of the electorate, Manjhi has often clashed with Paswan’s party. The two had fought even before the 2014 general election for more tickets. Manjhi was then part of the NDA and the JD (U) a component of the great alliance.
HAM (S) has support among ‘Mushar’ voters. They are a ‘Mahadalit’ community, having a substantial population in the state where the ‘Paswans’ are numerically the most influential among a wide variety of Dalit castes.
The LJP believes that Kumar got Manjhi back to counter Paswan’s match.
So far, the BJP has stayed away from the dispute, insisting that the alliance will contest the polls as a cohesive unit.
Kumar had facilitated Manjhi’s ascent to the chief ministerial presidency in 2014 after beating JD (U) in the Lok Sabha polls, taking responsibility for the defeat.
Later, when Kumar wanted the chair back, Manjhi stood his ground and refused to resign. After an initial reluctance, he was forced to resign.
He later founded HAM (S) and became part of the NDA, while Nitish Kumar joined the RJD and Congress to create a grand alliance.
When Kumar returned to the NDA in 2017, Manjhi reached out to the grand alliance.
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