Nitish Kumar mends fences with Jitan Ram Manjhi

Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar appears to have initiated subtle social engineering moves in the state as he tries to win back his former party colleague-turned-foe Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is currently the ruling NDA's most prominent Maha-dalit face.

Wary of the BJP alone encashing the popularity of the Maha-dalit icon, the JD(U) chief seems to be trying expand his party’s vote base by mending his fences with Mr Manjhi, who quit the party to float his own outfit Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S).

What is helping the JD(U) chief is Mr Manjhi's reported grudge against the BJP-led central government  for not giving him a post of a governor or a central minister. The growing bonhomie between Mr Kumar and Manjhi may pose problems for the BJP if the chief minister decides to rethink his alliance with the saffron party.   

Mr Kumar recently visited Mr Manjhi's village in Gaya district and announced a slew of developmental projects. This was Bihar chief minister's first gesture of goodwill towards Mr Manjhi after the maha-dalit leader was ousted from the JD (U) in 2015.

Mr Kumar had hand-picked Mr Manjhi to become the chief minister in 2014 following JD(U)'s poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls. But the relations between the two soon deteriorated.

Mr Kumar's attempt to win back the trust of Mr Manjhi is being seen in the light of the JD(U)'s preparations for the 2020 Assembly elections.

"I always had respect for Mr Manjhi and now he has requested for road connectivity in his village. I would like to ensure that work is  done in that direction," said Mr Kumar.

The JD(U) leader seems to be putting in a special effort to mobilise support from Maha-dalits and other Scheduled Castes by offering a slew of schemes.

Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Ram Vilas Paswan and Mr Manjhi are the two most prominent Dalit faces in Bihar. Mr Manjhi enjoys significant influence over the Musahar community, a sub-caste among the Dalits known for its widespread illiteracy, poverty and rat-eating habit.

The community has a population of around 40 lakh and was classified among the Maha-dalits in 2007 by Mr Kumar.

Mr Kumar enjoys the backing of his own caste Kurmi but its population is limited and the JD (U) leader needs to expand this base. During the past two decades, Mr Kumar never contested an election alone and always took help of either the BJP or RJD. But the shrewd chief minister now appears to be preparing t o change the political arithmetic of the state by working on a possible tie-up with  Mr Manjhi, who is allegedly upset with BJP for cold-shouldering him after the last electoral outing.

There is also a buzz in political circles that Mr Manjhi is upset with the BJP which didn't fulfil its commitment to rehabilitate him either as a governor or Union minister after he losing the last election that he had jointly fought with the saffron party. He is feeling sidelined, angry and humiliated due to the attitude of BJP top brass, his supporters  said.

"Mr  Manjhi is an experienced political leader with a clean image. Political parties used him as per their convenience and needs but he didn't get his due. He should have been made a Union minister or governor of any state", Anamika Paswan, HAM(S), spokesperson told this newspaper.

Mr Kumar visiting Manjhi's village this month is also being considered significant after RJD chief Lalu Yadav recently hinted that he had no objection in projecting NDA partner and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha, a critic of Mr Kumar, as the chief ministerial candidate for the 2020 Assembly elections.

Mr Kushwaha, a junior minister in the Narendra Modi government, is also sulking over the BJP's new alliance with the JD(U) in Bihar.

Since Mr Kushwaha's aversion to Mr Kumar is known to all, speculation is also rife that the the RLSP chief and Lalu Yadav have been touch to discuss future strategies. Losing Mr Kushwaha could cause a major dent to the NDA's vote bank in Bihar as Mr Kushwaha has the support of Koeris  - a powerful OBC caste after Yadav.

The next Assembly elections might be three years away but Bihar chief minister seems to be preparing to test his new social engineering formula in the 2019 general elections itself. Mr Kumar sharing a dais with Mr Manjhi and Lalu Yadav's clandestine meeting with Kushwaha of RLSP is an alarm bell for the BJP which may not want to be outsmarted by its own alliance partners.