Ex-CM Jitan Ram Manjhi’s son quits as Cabinet minister
New Delhi: In a move that may be termed a major political setback for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is working as the ‘fulcrum’ of Opposition unity, the lone minister from Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) Santosh Kumar Suman resigned from the Nitish Cabinet on Tuesday.
As per Suman, who is the president of HAM and son of former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, there was a threat on the “existence” of his party in Mahagathbandhan as his party has not been invited to the grand Opposition meeting, which is scheduled to be held on June 23 in Patna.
“I took this step as they don’t recognise HAM as a party, which is very humiliating for us. Under the present circumstances, it was not possible to be a part of the government,” Santosh said while talking to reporters in Patna.
Explaining the reasons for his annoyance, he said: “Various creatures live in a jungle. There are lions and small animals who are hunted... all of them escape, deer also escape. We were also escaping so far but felt today that we won’t be safe for long. So, we parted ways.”
Suman holds the portfolio of the Minister for SC/ST Welfare Department in the Bihar government.
According to sources in HAM, the party workers have decided to show black flags to Bihar CM and other party leaders during the Opposition meet on June 23.
However, as per sources, the JDU had put a condition for HAM to merge it with JDU and get a key ministerial post after Manjhi started demanding five Lok Sabha seats for the 2024 general elections.
“There is a reason for it as HAM was allotted assembly seats from the quota of JDU and not as a single party. So, on the same lines, the JDU wanted it to get merged and field candidates from the JDU quota in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections,” the sources said.
Given that HAM has four MLAs in its kitty, it would not have any impact on the survival of the RJD-led Grand Alliance government in Bihar.
As of now, the HAM is with the Grand Alliance. However, it’s not yet certain for how long Manjhi’s party would be a part of Mahagathbandhan. The buzz is that HAM may join the NDA cavalcade.
After being dejected for the Opposition meeting, Manjhi has declared that his party will not contest even a single Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 general elections. The Bihar BJP has termed this event as their internal matter.
