Bihar United? Lalu reaches out to Manjhi for fight against BJP

Rashtriya Janata Dal President Lalu Prasad on Thursday invited former Bihar chief minister Jiten Ram Manjhi, a known detractor of Nitish Kumar, to join the process of uniting parties against the Bharatiya Janata Party for the upcoming assembly polls in Bihar.

"We are for broader unity of parties against the BJP in which everybody, including Manjhi, shall come forward," he told reporters in Patna before leaving for Delhi to attend a meeting of Janata Parivar constituents on Friday.

"Be it merger or alliance, there is a need for broader unity of parties to fight together against the BJP...Manjhi and others shall come forward for this," the RJD chief said.

Though Kumar, who left for Delhi later, did not speak to mediapersons, the Janata Dal-United did not take Prasad's invitation to Manjhi kindly.

State JD-U President Basistha Narayan Singh told reporters that there was no point taking the name of Manjhi who had relation with the BJP.

Bihar JD-U spokesman Neeraj Kumar said, "Manjhi is not in the work list of Janata Party unity process. Nitish Kumar had chosen him for the chair of chief ministership, but he turned out to be a puppet in the hands of the BJP."

Brishen Patel, a former minister and now a close aide of Manjhi, thanked Lalu Prasad for the invitation. "But, one thing is crystal clear that Manjhi and his newly floated Hindustani Awam Party would not be part of any combination in which Nitish Kumar is a part," said Patel who had been a close associate of Kumar since Samata Party days, but later fell out with him and sided with Manjhi.

JD-U National General Secretary K C Tyagi said Mulayam Singh Yadav, who has been chosen as head of the "merged" Janata Party, had called upon the leaders of constituent parties to end the "gatirodh" (logjam) on some issues that had cropped up recently.

Tyagi said that the merger was a done deal setting aside the statement of senior Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav that there was no possibility of the merger happening before the Bihar assembly polls due to some technical issues.

Lalu Prasad took cognizance to the reservation expressed by Ramgopal Yadav and said for his party if merger was not possible on technical grounds, alliance would also do.

Nitish Kumar, however, had brushed aside the Samajwadi Party leader's statement describing it as his personal opinion which was more of "advisory" in nature.

Tyagi said the leaders if directed by Mulayam Singh Yadav might seek clarifications from the Election Commission on issues like the prospect of the symbols of their parent parties after the merger. "A clarification might be sought on whether these symbols can be used or misused by others," Tyagi

said.

Another key issue in Friday’s meeting might be to give a final shape to seat sharing for crucial Bihar election.

"After a final agreement among Lalu Prasad, Sharad Yadav and Nitish Kumar on seats in Bihar, a talk with Congress could also be held for a broader secular front against BJP," the JD-U general secretary said.

Tyagi said in his personal view, Nitish Kumar should be presented as the "face" of the Janata Party in the Bihar polls, but the final call would be taken by Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Image: Former Bihar chief minister Jiten Ram Manjhi is a detractor of Nitish Kumar