I’m CM only for a few more days: Jitan Ram Manjhi

PATNA: On a day JD(U) strongman Nitish Kumar plotted revival of the ‘Janata Parivar’ at Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Delhi home over lunch on Thursday, his controversy-prone nominee Jitan Ram Manjhi created fresh flutter saying he was chief minister for “only a few days”. All this as the BJP demanded Manjhi’s resignation for violating rules by appointing his son-in-law as a close aide.
Following an outcry over Devendra Kumar serving as Manjhi’s personal assistant, the CM was forced to remove him on Wednesday night. This wasn’t the first time Manjhi had embarrassed Kumar, who placed him on the CM’s chair in May this year fearing a coup after the Lok Sabha drubbing. The reasoning also was the BJP wouldn’t try to dislodge a Mahadalit CM.
However, with Manjhi saying he is CM for just a few days, Kumar is again in a fix. His attempt to make Mahadalit the CM now seems to have backfired, as he is stuck with him because removing Manjhi will open him to accusation of being power hungry, with the BJP gleefully dismissing his professed love for Dalits as a hoax.
When TOI asked Bihar JD(U) chief Bashistha Narain Singh who was going to replace Manjhi if he indeed quit, Singh said he wasn’t aware of the context in which Manjhi had made the comment. But, another JD(U) functionary sarcastically said, “The CM has talked in terms of days, not hours!”
While the initial assessment was Kumar had played his cards well by appointing a Musahar – the most “backward” among Dalits – CM to send a positive message to the community, it does appear with the benefit of hindsight that the JD(U) bigwig was just delaying the inevitable before next year’s assembly elections.
The grapevine is buzzing with Kumar-Manjhi differences and that the two haven’t spoken to each other for a long time. Kumar has ignored Manjhi while calling JD(U) ministers and office-bearers to meetings at his residence. Not surprisingly, senior ministers close to Kumar brush aside Manjhi as inconsequential.
Nonetheless, JD(U) seniors are apprehensive of the consequences of removing Manjhi before 2015 polls. “The party will lose support of Mahadalits in a big way,” said a senior minister, adding that he hoped Kumar would be able to hammer out a workable transfer-of-power plan.