PATNA: Former Bihar chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi on Thursday put all speculations to rest by declaring that he would not join NDA again.
“I am with Nitish Kumar and will continue to remain with him wherever he goes,” Manjhi told media persons soon after calling on union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. Manjhi had gone to meet Shah to demand 'Bharat Ratna' for Bihar's 'mountain man' Dasarath Manjhi.
Replying to a query, the former chief minister said that there was no question of joining hands with NDA. “The question of joining hands with BJP does not arise when it has spoken against the existence of smaller parties like mine,” he asserted.
Manjhi's Thursday meeting with Shah, who is more focused on Bihar in the wake of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, gave credence to speculation that the saffron party may try to win over smaller parties to dent in the vote bank of the grand alliance comprising seven parties.
Manjhi met the union home minister at a time when Nitish Kumar was in New Delhi to meet leaders of Congress, AAP and Left parties to stitch a broader Opposition unity before the next general election.
HAM chief, however, rushed to meet Nitish Kumar in the national capital and accompanied the former when he called on senior Left party leaders—Sitaram Yechury and D Raja. Manjhi met Nitish to dispel any perception that he was again on verge of a U-turn.
Manjhi's HAM is part of a grand alliance in Bihar and has four MLAs in the state assembly. BJP, which received a jolt after Nitish snapped ties and formed a grand alliance government with RJD and other parties, is trying to win over smaller parties in the state, which has 40 Lok Sabha seats.
Reacting to Manjhi's meeting with Shah, better known as 'Chanakya of BJP', Bihar BJP chief Samrat Choudhary said, “We will welcome Manjhi ji if he wishes so. He is not only an honourable leader”, he added.
The Dalit leader said that Dashrath Manjhi be honoured with 'Bharat Ratna' for his single-handed feat of digging a road through the mountains over two decades.