PATNA: Ahead of Nitish Kumar-led NDA government seeking trust vote, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) patron and former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Friday created a flutter in political circles by demanding two ministerial berths in the cabinet claiming that the mahagathbandhan had offered him the chief minister’s post.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will seek a vote on February 12, the inaugural day of the budget session. “Mahagathbandhan had offered me the post of CM if I extended support of my party’s four MLAs in the government formation, but I did not succumb to the allure of the post because I am not saleable,” he remarked.
Nitish had appointed Manjhi the chief minister in 2014 after he resigned from his post when JD(U) was restricted to only two seats. Manjhi had resigned from the CM’s post without taking the trust vote on the floor of the House in 2015. Manjhi had revolted against Nitish and refused to hand over the post when JD (U) wanted it back from him.
Adding fuel to the fire, Manjhi also demanded two ministerial berths as he said that it would be injustice to his party if his demand was not conceded.Nitsh had submitted a letter of support of 128 MLAs to the governor last Sunday as he was sworn in as the chief minister for the ninth term the same day.
With a wafer-thin majority in the assembly, the NDA government may find itself in a tight spot if Manjhi really decides to support the mahagathbandhan to become the chief minister of the state for the second time.Even after five days of the formation of the new NDA government, Nitish has yet to expand his cabinet.
Seeks 2 cabinet berths
Manjhi had revolted against Nitish and refused to hand over the chief minister post when JD (U) wanted it back from him. Adding fuel to the fire, Manjhi also demanded two ministerial berths as he said that it would be injustice to his party if his demand was not conceded.