Political crisis strikes Bihar as JD(U) sacks CM Manjhi

Bihar was plunged into a political crisis on Monday with two conflicting claims from a former and present Chief Minister to prove majority on the floor of the State Assembly.

Incumbent CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, who was sacked from primary membership of the Janata Dal (United) on Monday morning, met Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi and demanded voting by secret ballot.

Former CM Nitish Kumar too met the Governor and demanded an immediate test of strength on the floor of the House.

Manjhi’s proposal to dissolve the Assembly had been rejected by 15 ministers in the State Cabinet two days back. Seven ministers voted in favour of his proposal.

Manjhi, however, is still confident that he has majority support. “I told the Governor that I am ready to prove majority in the House on February 19, 20 or 21. It should be done by secret ballot because these people (Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar) have bahubalis  (musclemen) who will threaten people,” he said.

Nitish, who has been elected leader of the legislature party, has alleged that Manjhi is acting at the behest of opposition party BJP. Accompanied by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad and 130 legislators of the JD(U) and the RJD, Nitish marched to the Governor’s house and demanded an immediate floor test in the Assembly.

He claimed to have majority in the 243-member Bihar Assembly and asserted that if he is not called by the Governor to prove his majority in the House, he will approach President Pranab Mukherjee.

“We told the Governor that all the legislators were at the gate of his house with their identity cards and he can count them if he so wishes.

“We asked him to take a decision at the earliest because failing to do so will encourage horse-trading. We are ready to prove a majority on the floor of the Assembly as soon as we are asked to,” Nitish told reporters outside the Raj Bhavan in Patna.

Nitish further said Manjhi was sacked from the JD(U) because he was indulging in “anti-party activities”. The latter had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday. “After meeting Modi, Manjhi had got a licence for horse-trading,” said Nitish.

Manjhi, on his part, has told the Governor that the election of Nitish would be “unconstitutional” and that he (Manjhi) is still the leader of the legislature party.

Although the majority of the MLAs seem to be with Nitish in the ongoing crisis, technically, Manjhi is on sound footing, say political observers.

Ordinarily, only the CM has the right to call a meeting of the legislature party. In the circumstance of his having been sacked by the party and his proposal for dissolution of the Assembly having been rejected by the majority in the Cabinet, it is now up to the Governor to decide whether Nitish should be called to prove his majority.

The BJP, in the meantime, has labelled Nitish’s proposal “unconstitutional” and demanded that President’s rule be imposed in the State.

“Nitish Kumar has plunged Bihar in a state of constitutional crisis. Ideally, in such a situation, President’s rule should be imposed. All this has happened because the JD(U) could not tolerate a Dalit Chief Minister for long,” former Union Minister and State BJP president CP Thakur told BusinessLine over the phone from Patna.

Bihar’s present crisis has its genesis in the JD(U)’s suspicions that Manjhi was hobnobbing with the BJP.

Manjhi was appointed as Chief Minister after Nitish resigned from the post. At the time, Manjhi was thought of as an ingenious alternative given that he comes from the Mahadalit caste of Musahars in Bihar. Between him, Nitish and Lalu Prasad, the JD(U)-RJD alliance seemed to represent the dominant OBCs as well as Mahadalits in the State.

However, the JD(U) subsequently said Manjhi was “dancing to the BJP’s tune” and decided to remove him. The party alleged that the BJP was “playing Manjhi against us”.

According to Thakur, Nitish should stop blaming the BJP for his “own mismanagement and anti-Dalit attitude”. “He is power hungry. He is the one not allowing Manjhi to continue. How are we to be blamed?” he said.

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