Ahead of Bihar Assembly polls, Jitan Ram Manjhi set to join NDA again

Ahead of Bihar Assembly polls, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) President and former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi is set to join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Thursday.

Manjhi was earlier part of the NDA but left the alliance to join 'Mahagathbandhan' (Grand Alliance) in 2018.

HAM, which contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in coalition with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)- Congress alliance but could not win even a single seat in Bihar had broke ties with 'Mahagathbandhan' last month.

Manjhi was a Minister under the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar government. In the 2014 general election, Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) decided to leave NDA and contested polls but lost badly. Later, Manjhi replaced Kumar after the latter resigned taking moral responsibility for his party's defeat.

After a dramatic episode, Majhi resigned from the post which paved way for Nitish Kumar's return at the helm. He later floated his own party- Hindustani Awam Morcha and joined hands with BJP-led NDA contested for 2015 Assembly polls. However, 'Mahagathbandhan' emerged victoriously and Kumar returned as Chief Minister.

Due to some differences, JDU broke ties with 'Mahagathbandhan' in 2017 but later secured support from BJP to run the state government. In 2018, Manjhi left the NDA to join the 'Mahagathbandhan'.