Bihar poll results will decide whether Manjhi was the best bet for BJP

Politics in Bihar has primarily revolved around Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad over the past 25 years. No other politician from the state had ever managed to overshadow them until Jitan Ram Manjhi emerged out of nowhere to take the centrestage last year.

Manjhi has established himself as a formidable mahadalit leader in the state in a short span of time. Even the Bharatiya Janata Party, which had earlier dismissed him contemptuously as a rubber stamp of Nitish, has joined forces with him for the upcoming Assembly elections. It has offered his fledgling organisation - Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) - 20 seats for the polls.

The saffron party is apparently under the impression that the 69-yearold leader would be instrumental in getting the bulk of 15 per cent votes of his community transferred to the NDA in the coming polls. The BJP, in fact, had anxious moments over the past weekend when Manjhi had declined to accept the 15 seats offered to his party during the seat-sharing talks.

The BJP appears to have done well to forge a tie-up with Manjhi given his perceived popularity among the mahadalits but the Gaya-born leader needs to live up to the expectations in the coming polls. As a matter of fact, Manjhi’s track record does not indicate that he has ever been a mass leader of the Dalits and the mahadalits in Bihar. He was a lesser known political entity even during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when he was fielded by the JD-U from the Gaya (reserved) constituency.

Manjhi’s only claim to fame was that he had served as a minister in the three different governments under Dr Jagannath Mishra, Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar. He was primarily seen all these years as an unassuming man with least political ambitions.

In fact, he was said to be contemplating retirement from active politics after his defeat in the 2014 general elections.

That is why Manjhi’s meteoric rise in the last 16 months or so has stupefied those who have watched Bihar politics for many years. In this period, Manjhi has evolved into a crafty leader who knows how to play his cards in the caste-conscious state.

After having spent 35 years in politics, Manjhi had apparently seen a great opportunity to reinvent himself when Nitish handed over to him the CM’s chair on a platter following his party’s defeat in the parliamentary polls. In May last year, Manjhi had been told in no uncertain terms by the JD-U leadership he was merely a stop-gap arrangement and would have to make way for Nitish if the party returned to power in the next elections.

Manjhi at that time had two choices before him. His first option was to let the 16 months or so pass quietly as a dutiful follower of Nitish.

His second was to make the most of his opportunity and register his presence as a leader with a mind of his own. As a seasoned politician, he chose to explore the second option. Manjhi has since played the poor and mahadalit card to a perfection, winning the support of a majority of his community.

He not only announced a slew of pro-poor decisions during his tenure but also tried to paint Nitish as an anti-mahadalit blaming him later for his unceremonious ouster as the chief minister.

In the past, Nitish had also initiated several welfare schemes for the mahadalits and even seemed to have succeeded in wooing them. The appointment of Manjhi was part of his strategy to consolidate his mahadalit vote bank but his move backfired when his “unassuming” protégé started pursuing his own agenda.

Manjhi’s supporters now claim that he has since emerged to be the most popular leader of the poor and the mahadalits in Bihar. The BJP also appears to be banking on him to tilt the mahadalit votes in its favour.

Manjhi needs to establish his credentials as a force to reckon with in Bihar. Ultimately, the poll results will determine whether he proves to be a trump card for the BJP or not.