JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar on Monday May 19,2014
handpicked senior Bihar minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, whom he had asked to
quit the state Cabinet in November 2005 for his alleged involvement in
irregular recognition of teachers' training institutes and non-existent
colleges, as the Chief Minister of the state.
While playing the Mahadalit card in bolstering the JD(U)'s chances in the Bihar Assembly elections, Nitish overlooked the controversial past of Manjhi, 68, whose name figured in a fake B.Ed degree racket in the 1990s.
Manjhi was re-inducted in 2008 after being absolved of the charges.
Manjhi, who was elected the new leader of the JD(U) legislature party, met Governor D. Y. Patil to stake claim to form the government.
He will take the oath of office and secrecy on Tuesday May 20,2014
Nitish Kumar has apparently chosen Manjhi, a Mahadalit leader, as his successor to consolidate his Mahadalit vote bank.
The Mahadalits account for about 15 per cent of the electorate in the state. During his eight-and-a-half year reign, Nitish had launched various welfare schemes for the most marginalised sections of the society.
Besides, he had picked up Manjhi ahead of other high-profile claimants to minimise the scope of protests within his party.
But the selection of 68-year-old Manjhi, who was the SC/ST welfare minister in the
Nitish Kumar Cabinet, raised questions as to whether he would have a free hand to take decisions on his own or end up as a dummy Chief Minister.
The question arose after the JD(U) legislature party passed a resolution earlier in the day authorising Nitish to function as the "coordinator" between the party and the state government apart from being the mentor of the organisation.
It also resolved to fight the next assembly elections and form the government with absolute majority under his leadership.
"Kaman unhin ke haath mein rahegi, bhale hi woh CM na ho (Nitish will continue to hold the reins even if he is not the CM)," JD(U)'s Bihar unit president Vashishtha Narayan Singh said
BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi dismissed the new incumbent as a tainted Mahadalit leader with the "rubber stamp" of Nitish Kumar
While playing the Mahadalit card in bolstering the JD(U)'s chances in the Bihar Assembly elections, Nitish overlooked the controversial past of Manjhi, 68, whose name figured in a fake B.Ed degree racket in the 1990s.
Manjhi was re-inducted in 2008 after being absolved of the charges.
Manjhi, who was elected the new leader of the JD(U) legislature party, met Governor D. Y. Patil to stake claim to form the government.
He will take the oath of office and secrecy on Tuesday May 20,2014
Nitish Kumar has apparently chosen Manjhi, a Mahadalit leader, as his successor to consolidate his Mahadalit vote bank.
The Mahadalits account for about 15 per cent of the electorate in the state. During his eight-and-a-half year reign, Nitish had launched various welfare schemes for the most marginalised sections of the society.
Besides, he had picked up Manjhi ahead of other high-profile claimants to minimise the scope of protests within his party.
But the selection of 68-year-old Manjhi, who was the SC/ST welfare minister in the
Nitish Kumar Cabinet, raised questions as to whether he would have a free hand to take decisions on his own or end up as a dummy Chief Minister.
The question arose after the JD(U) legislature party passed a resolution earlier in the day authorising Nitish to function as the "coordinator" between the party and the state government apart from being the mentor of the organisation.
It also resolved to fight the next assembly elections and form the government with absolute majority under his leadership.
"Kaman unhin ke haath mein rahegi, bhale hi woh CM na ho (Nitish will continue to hold the reins even if he is not the CM)," JD(U)'s Bihar unit president Vashishtha Narayan Singh said
BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi dismissed the new incumbent as a tainted Mahadalit leader with the "rubber stamp" of Nitish Kumar
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