Jitan Manjhi may quit before 20 Feb trust vote as BJP stays hands-off in Bihar

Come 20 February, when the Bihar assembly meets to hear the Governor’s address and hold a vote of confidence in Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, former CM Nitish Kumar will get what he wants: the CM’s chair. Firstpost has learnt that after the debate on the trust vote, Manjhi may choose to announce his resignation on the floor of the House without actually seeking a vote on his motion. But before he does that, he is expected to give an impassioned speech where he will basically target Nitish Kumar, and how he intended to keep him (Manjhi) as a puppet. Manjhi, by all accounts, will link his fate to the humiliation of a Mahadalit. [caption id=“attachment_2101345” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Manjhi is set to resign. PTI image[/caption] Deliberations within the top BJP leadership suggest that the party will not play any tricks in Bihar ahead of the vote. It will not support Manjhi. Nitish Kumar and his backers, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Sharad Yadav, the Congress, the CPI and others, can now relax and wait for another four days to light their firecrackers, if they so desire. However, if this script unfolds as expected, thanks to Manjhi’s efforts, Kumar may be forced to begin with extra baggage – two deputy CMs, one a Dalit, and the other a Lalu Prasad nominee. The Dalit could be Ramai Ram, and Lalu’s nominee is expected to be his daughter, Misa Bharti. The new government will start with all the trappings and handicaps of a marriage of convenience. Since the date chosen by Governor Kesrinath Tripathi (20 February) coincides with the budget session, it will include an address by the Governor to a joint sitting of both the assembly and the legislative council. Soon after this speech, the debate on the trust vote will begin. Nitish Kumar, who is not a member of the legislative assembly, will have to stay away from the proceedings. The Speaker’s decision to grant him leader of the house status has been dismissed by the Patna High Court. Sources told Firstpost that the BJP, which has 87 members in the assembly, has decided to take a hands-off approach on the trust vote, which, it says, is the result of an internal power struggle within Nitish Kumar’s JD(U). This means the trust vote will not see any high-wire act or tensions. Manjhi has been in Delhi since yesterday. Tonight (16 February) he has to attend a Presidential banquet hosted in honour of the visiting Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena. The Bihar CM is an invitee because Sirisena plans to visit the Buddhist pilgrimage site of Bodh Gaya on 17 February. Manjhi, on his part, used the opportunity to meet Home Minister Rajnath Singh, among others, and gave a host of interviews to the national media. Things have become clearer after the BJP decided not to support Manjhi in the floor test. He has been told about it. There was growing opinion within BJP ranks that support to Manjhi could prove to be counter-productive for the party’s chances in the assembly polls due before the year-end. The party did help Manjhi by giving him time to go out and “expose” Nitish Kumar and seek the support of MLAs, but it does not want to be seen as supporting a split within the JD(U). If that had happened, said a BJP leader, “we would have committed the same mistake that Nitish has committed”. Manjhi has been a poor performer as CM. But the treatment meted out to him by Nitish Kumar has turned Manjhi into a Mahadalit leader. The BJP wants to encash that sentiment by giving him an opportunity to defend himself and dent Kumar’s image. The BJP also realises that Nitish Kumar does not have much time left to make an impact in Bihar as CM. With just six months left, Kumar hardly has time to claim major improvements in administration. Moreover, he has to explain his partnership with Lalu Yadav, a convicted criminal, and Congress to the electorate. The BJP does not want to ruin its chances of reaping an anti-incumbency vote by seeming to be in favour of political skullduggery.