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Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, one-time confidante of present Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, on Thursday announced his party, Hindustan Awam Party, will contest the Bihar Assembly elections as a partner of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
There were also indications from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its partners that the alliance was unlikely to project a CM candidate against Kumar, and that its line of attack will be to dent Kumar’s image as an icon of good governance, after his association with the Congress and Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Prasad, who celebrated his 68th birthday on Thursday with Kumar in attendance, dared the BJP to announce its CM candidate.
Manjhi made the announcement after a meeting with BJP President Amit Shah in New Delhi. In the afternoon, Shah discussed Bihar election strategy with his party’s Bihar ally Rashtriya Loktantrik Samata Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha. Both Manjhi and Kushwaha denied having discussed any seat sharing formula. Kushwaha even said that Lalu Prasad – Nitish Kumar alliance, with Kumar as its chief ministerial candidate, has meant that the NDA will have to “work harder”.
It now remains to be seen whether Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, a Lok Sabha MP and former Lalu Prasad confidante, will join the NDA or fight the elections independently. Ranjan was expelled by Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal and plans to float his Jan Adhikar Party. His party could contest as many as 150 of the 243 seats in Bihar to dent Lalu Prasad’s support base among Yadavs.
The BJP believes its caste formula, a key factor in any election in Bihar, is now in place with Manjhi, a Mahadalit, expected to eat into Kumar’s mahadalit support base; Kushwaha, a koeri, to dent Kumar’s support among that caste; Ram Vilas Paswan led Lok Janshakti Party will deliver the alliance the votes of the significant Paswan community and BJP's upper caste support base being intact.
In Patna, Lalu Prasad cut a 68 kg cake with Kumar alongside him. He said he will ensure ‘ghar wapasi’ of BJP. “I am very politely asking the BJP not to indulge in hypocrisy. It should first declare its chief ministerial candidate and then contest the polls,” Lalu Prasad said, adding that he supported Kumar (for CM of Bihar) and he will be our next chief minister.
