HAM party chief Jeetan Ram Manjhi has made up his mind to part ways with the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan. Manjhi has finally called a meeting of his party’s core committee on 10 July. Highly-placed sources in the party indicate that Manjhi is exploring the possibility of joining hands with the JDU.
The sting from being left out by the RJD and with no action over his repeated call for setting up a coordination committee within the Mahagathbandhan has brought differences.
Manjhi had issued the first deadline for 25 June and even warned that he would be free to take a call after that. On 26 June, a core committee meeting of the party was called where Manjhi was authorised to take appropriate decision. Subsequently, Manjhi went to Delhi and tried to rope in the Congress for the formation of a coordination committee within Mahagathbandhan for amicably working out a seat-sharing formula. After assurances from the Congress he kept waiting till 3 July when the second deadline also expired.
Talking to The Daily Guardian, party spokesperson Danish Riwan confirmed, “The core committee meeting would take place on 10th of July we will take a decision. It has been endless wait for us and we can’t take this insult any longer.” He added, “Mahagathbandhan is in a complete disarray. There is absolutely no coordination among various parties. RJD is bound to fail miserably if corrective measures are not put in place and all the parties are not taken along in confidence.”
On the question of Tejashwi Yadav as the CM candidate for Mahagathbandhan, he said that he may be the choice of the RJD but not of Mahagathbandhan. Apparently, similar sentiments echoed in the Congress camp as well.
The JDU on the other hand is watching the situation very closely. Party spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan said, “Manjhi knows it well that Nitish Kumar has worked relentlessly for the development of the state and as such the people have reposed their faith in him. There is absolutely no chance for Mahagathbandhan. Jeetan Ram Manjhi however needs to first decide on his exit from Mahagathbandhan and subsequently we can discuss on the issue of his joining the NDA camp.”
It’s also being speculated in the political arena of Bihar that Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is more than keen to bring in Manjhi to his side to control the growing ambitions of Chirag Paswan.