Jitan Ram Manjhi, the former chief minister of Bihar and founder of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), met with governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Thursday to discuss the state’s failing educational system and the widespread estimates scam that is currently going on.
The meeting took place the day after Manjhi visited Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Patna, at his home and made a demand for five Lok Sabha seats in the general elections of 2024. His request could lead to a struggle for control inside the Mahagathbandhan administration in Bihar.
The action has been characterised by political circles in Bihar as Manjhi’s pressure strategy to secure the most number of seats feasible for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Manjhi is likely to team up with the Bharatiya Janata Party, Nitish Kumar’s largest political foe, if he decides not to support Nitish Kumar.
When the former chief minister of Bihar met with Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi in April of this year, he already caused a stir by calling for Bharat Ratnas for ‘mountain man’ Dashrath Manjhi and former chief minister Karpoori Thakur. The Mahagathbandhan was upset by his encounter with Amit Shah, although Manjhi later swore to be Nitish Kumar’s loyalist.
The meeting between Manjhi and the governor, which was set up right after the former presented his requests to Nitish, has, however, given rise to rumours that Manjhi is subtly suggesting he has options if his demands are not satisfied.
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