Bihar elections: 'Anyone who has faith in PM Modi welcome,' says BJP on Nitish-Manjhi meet

Ahead of assembly polls in Bihar, political alignments in the state have begun, with the BJP declaring that anyone who favours Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership is welcome to join their fold. As Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) president Jitan Ram Manjhi left the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan and met with CM Nitish Kumar, speculations are high about HAM rejoining the NDA. The party has said that it will announce its decision on August 30. 

Reacting on the development, BJP's state unit head Sanjay Jaiswal on Saturday said whosoever expresses faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership is welcome in the alliance. BJP chief JP Nadda also held a crucial meeting with party MPs to finalise its poll strategy. Talking about the meeting, Jaiswal said Nadda told the MPs to work for the victory of the BJP as well its NDA partners candidates in the upcoming assembly polls. The BJP's national president also instructed party MPs to visit at least 60 panchayats in September and interact with the people.

READ | Ex-Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi quits Mahagathbandhan ahead of polls, blames Lalu's RJD

READ | Tej Pratap meets Lalu; calls Raghuvansh Prasad his 'chacha' after father's scolding

Manjhi was a close confidant of Nitish Kumar

Manjhi was a close confidant of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, who even made him CM of the state in 2014 after his own resignation after being routed in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. However, in the ever-evolving political scene of Bihar, Manjhi in 2015 revolted against his mentor Nitish and was ousted after JDU MLAs pulled back their support ahead of the trust vote.  

With the exit of Hindustani Awam Morcha, the opposition Grand Alliance now comprises the RJD, Congress, former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) and ex-Bollywood set designer Mukesh Sahni's Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP). RJD also suffered a big jolt after senior RJD MLA Chandrika Rai - who was a close friend of Lalu Yadav and also Tej Pratap Yadav's father-in-law, and two MLAs Faraz Fatmi and Jaiwardhan Yadav joined the ruling JD(U).

READ | Bihar polls: HAM president Jitan Ram Manjhi meets CM Nitish Kumar, hints at coalition

Bihar elections 2020

Amid rising COVID-19 cases, Bihar is all set to go to polls for a 243-member assembly seat this year. While BJP and JDU have said that they will contest the polls with CM Nitish Kumar as the leader, the Mahagathbandhan consisting of RJD, Congress, HAM, and others are still discussing the name of former CM Lalu Yadav's son Tejashwi Yadav. 

While Kumar faces strong anti-incumbency, RJD - Bihar's main opposition has lost the luster it once had due to the absence of it's chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.  Meanwhile, former JDU vice president Prashant Kishor has also claimed that he is working at 'ground level' for the development of Bihar.  In a twist of sorts, London-based Pushpam Priya Choudhary, the daughter of JDU leader Binod Choudhary, on March 8 declared herself as the Chief Ministerial candidate.

In the 2015 assembly polls, CM Nitish Kumar's JDU, then a part of the Mahagathbandhan won 71 seats, Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD won 80 seats, and Congress won 27 seats. The BJP which fought the elections alone after Kumar in 2013 broke the 17-year-old alliance won a mere 53 seats out of 157 contested. However, the saffron party came back to power when Kumar ditched the Mahagathbandhan and once again stitched an alliance with the BJP.

READ | Jitan Manjhi's exit from grand alliance unfortunate, will try to convince him: Congress