New Delhi: BJP has received a shot in the arm ahead of the high-stakes in Bihar Assembly elections, with former chief minister and mahadalit leader Jitan Ram Manjhi announcing a tie-up with the saffron party to defeat the ‘unholy’ alliance of Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Making the announcement after a meeting with BJP president Amit Shah, Manjhi said a strong alliance is needed to defeat the ‘Janata Parivar’ in the upcoming assembly elections.
“In Bihar, an unholy alliance between Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad has been formed…I spoke to Amit Shah in this context. We have to work together to prevent Lalu and Nitish from coming to power,” Manjhi told reporters after the 30-minute meeting with the BJP chief.
The mahadalit leader was being wooed by RJD chief Lalu Prasad but made it clear he would not be part of any formation which includes his bete noire Nitish Kumar, who ousted him as Chief Minister.
Manjhi said he had held rallies across the state where the ‘consensus’ was to get ‘rid’ of the Lalu-Nitish combine.
“Yadavs feel that Lalu has betrayed them by joining hands with Nitish, who put thousands of Yadavs behind bars on petty charges. They no longer think that Lalu is their leader. Under these circumstances I felt that an alternative was needed,” he said.
The former chief minister said he will continue to run Hindustani Awam Morcha and it will become ‘a part and parcel’ of NDA to ‘destroy’ the Lalu-Nitish alliance. Manjhi said he has already applied to the Election Commission for a symbol.
Asked about seat-sharing agreement with BJP, he said, “It has been decided that we will go to whatever extent possible to help each other. We have not held any seat-sharing discussion. Our core committee will meet on June 15 and take a decision there. Our preparations are in all 243 seats.”
