'I fail to understand why when Rahul Gandhi himself gave me hope that I would contest the polls, how come other Congress leaders did not consider my name?'
Bhagirath Manjhi, 'Mountain Man' Dashrath Manjhi's son, is unhappy after the Congress denied him a ticket to contest the Bihar assembly polls.
Early this year Bhagirath Manjhi quit the Janata Dal-United to join the Congress. He was upbeat after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited him and his family at Gehlaur village in June 2025.
During this visit Manjhi claimed that Rahul Gandhi assured him he would consider his request to contest the assembly election as a Congress nominee.
"Rahul Gandhi visited my mud house and promised me a Congress ticket," Bhagirath Manjhi, who is in his late 60s, tells Rediff Senior Contributor M I Khan.
Why did you not get a Congress ticket to contest the Bihar assembly polls?
It is sad that Rahul Gandhi failed to fulfill his promise to nominate me as a Congress candidate.
During his visit to our house in June Rahul Gandhi promised to help me get a Congress ticket. Rahul Gandhi's words sounded like a guarantee to me.
He has not kept his promise. We are sad. We were ready to contest the election. We had faith in Rahul Gandhi. That faith has been broken now.
I failed to understand why when Rahul Gandhi himself gave me hope that I would contest the polls, how come other Congress leaders did not consider my name?
Did you actually try to secure a Congress ticket? Or were you sitting at home and hopeful that you would get a ticket which you say Rahul Gandhi promised you?
I tried my best. I was camping in Delhi for a few days with all required documents. I visited the Congress headquarters and met senior party leaders.
During my stay in Delhi I tried to meet Rahul Gandhi but failed despite visiting his official residence twice.
In September I heard that Rahul Gandhi would visit Sadaqat Ashram, the state Congress headquarters in Patna. I rushed from my village but was disappointed as he was not there.
After that I met Bihar Congress President Rajesh Ram and state Congress in-charge Krishna Allavaru. Both heard me and assured that they would forward my application to the Congress high command in Delhi that finally decides the candidates to contest the polls.
Why were you not given a Congress ticket to contest the polls?
Bhagirath Manjhi is a poor man and have no resources. The poorest of the poor like us have no hope to get ticket to contest polls.
I was disappointed because I was hopeful that Rahul Gandhi would ensure me a party ticket to fulfill his promise. Now this story has ended.
I was interested to contest the election from the Barachatti assembly constituency (which is reserved for scheduled castes) in Gaya district. In recent months I visited Barachatti, which has a sizeable population of my Musahar caste.
But Rahul Gandhi built a new pucca house for you.
We never expected a new pucca house. Rahul Gandhi built it silently without any propaganda or showing off.
We have been living in comfort after shifting from our mud house to this newly built pucca house. Our much awaited dream was fulfilled by Rahul Gandhi who built this new house for us.
What about promises made by other politicians like Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi?
In recent years many big people -- politicians and celebrities -- visited us and promised to help after they saw our mud house, but no one helped us. It was Rahul Gandhi, who never promised anything, who built a pucca house for us.
When I once met Nitish Kumar and requested him for a pucca house, Nitish Kumar had then said that I had got a house under the Indira Awas Yojna, and that was enough.
In 2006 Nitish Kumar offered his chief minister chair to my father Dashrath Manjhi when he visited the chief minister's Janata Darbar.
My father Dashrath Manjhi sat for a few minutes on that chair but he continued to live in a mud house till he breathed his last in 2007 and we struggled for livelihood.
Jitan Ram Manjhi belongs to my Musahar community. He should have done more for us but he did nothing despite being chief minister for some months. Once when I requested help to construct a pucca house, Jitan Ram Manjhi told me to keep living in the mud house.