On Monday, the 19th of June, Ex-Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) withdrew its support from the Nitish Kumar-led coalition government. The Party’s National President and Former CM Manjhi’s son Santosh Suman stated that he has sought an appointment with the Bihar Governor, Rajendra Arlekar, to hand over the letter of withdrawal of support from the Nitish government.
Suman made these remarks while addressing a press conference, as the National Executive body of HAM had earlier authorised him to make decisions regarding the future course of action.
Suman added that later in the day, he would be visiting Delhi to “explore options”. He said that he is “willing to consider” an invitation from the NDA if it is extended by the BJP-led coalition.
HAM President Suman said, “We are also keeping the option open for setting up a third front.” However, he ducked the queries about unconfirmed reports of him having a meeting scheduled in Delhi with BJP President JP Nadda.
Last week, Suman resigned from the Nitish Kumar cabinet citing that he cannot compromise his self-respect. He alleged that the Bihar CM Nitish Kumar was pressuring him to merge his party with the JD(U).
Differences between Nitish Kumar and Jitan Ram Manjhi over opposition parties meeting
Reportedly, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar stated that Manjhi wanted to be a part of the opposition parties meeting scheduled to be held on 23rd June. However, CM added that Manjhi was not invited as there were apprehensions that he may leak details of the event to the BJP.
Apparently, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had been trying to put together a common opposition front against the Modi government. He went to different states seeking support for the same. Earlier, a meeting of the opposition parties was scheduled for the 12th of June. The meeting was rescheduled for the 23rd of June as Rahul Gandhi was on a ten-day US tour. However, before the meeting, the unity faced a major setback when BRS and BJD announced their plan to skip the opposition meeting.
It is interesting to note that since its formation in 2015, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s party has switched allies many times. Notably, the HAM, with its four MLAs, broke ties with NDA and joined the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ last year.
The ruling coalition, consists of JD(U), RJD, Congress, with three Left parties supporting it from outside. They hold a significant majority in the 243-member assembly with nearly 160 MLAs.
