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In a sudden move, Bihar minister Santosh Suman resigned from the state cabinet on Tuesday alleging "pressure" to merge his Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United.
Suman, who held the SC and ST welfare portfolio, is the national president of HAM founded by his father Jitan Ram Manjhi, a former chief minister.
"I have sent my resignation to the chief minister and personally met Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (senior JD-U leader and minister) to explain my point. I hope my resignation will be accepted. We are, though, not pulling out of the Mahagathbandhan," Suman told reporters.
He pointed out that his father, who then headed the party, had decided to quit the NDA last year and join the Mahagathbandhan because of his loyalty towards the chief minister.
"It is for the CM to decide whether we be kept in the Mahagathbandhan or expelled. We will decide accordingly. But in view of the JD-U's proposal, I had to take a decision to save my party from extinction. Hence I resigned," said Suman.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party in the state was quick to claim that the development was a dampener for Nitish Kumar's opposition unity efforts as part of which he will be hosting a conclave next week, to be attended by bigwigs like Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal.
"The resignation of Jitan Ram Manjhi's son is proof of the chasm that exists in the Mahagathbandhan. The alliance has been rejected by the people and it will become evident in the Lok Sabha polls next year and culminate in the defeat of the Mahagathbandhan in the assembly elections a year later," said BJP national spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain.
However, RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari, whose party helms the Mahagathbandhan, said, "Jitan Ram Manjhi has been known for his pressure tactics and prevarications. Though our government will not be affected by this decision, this is a move they will regret."
While Suman is a member of the legislative council, HAM has a total of four MLAs, including Manjhi. In the 243-strong Bihar assembly, 122 members are needed for a government to survive. Minus HAM, the Mahagathbandhan, which also includes Congress and the Left, still has close to 160.
Tiwari added, "At the Mahagathbandhan rally in Purnea earlier this year, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had spoken of the BJP's attempts to beguile Manjhi. It seems he has fallen into the trap. Claims of pressure for merger by JD-U do not hold water."
Notably, many eyebrows were raised when, about a month ago, Manjhi met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital.
This was followed by repeated demands for "not less than five seats for HAM in Lok Sabha polls", by the father-son duo.
Meanwhile, Leshi Singh, a minister and a senior leader of the JD-U, reminded Manjhi that "it was because of the blessings of Nitish Kumar that he rose to the chief minister's chair".
The reference was to the development in 2014, when Nitish Kumar stepped down, owning moral responsibility for the JD-U's drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls. Manjhi, then seen as a low-key minister, was appointed as the CM with the support of his mentor.
The eight-month-long tenure of the Dalit leader was marked by many controversies and factional feuds within the party and he revolted when Kumar decided to return as the chief minister.
A floor test was ordered but Manjhi chose to resign as CM, realising that he did not have sufficient support, and later on quit the JD-U to form HAM.
He started off as an NDA partner in the assembly polls held later that year, but has switched alliances on more than one occasion since then.