2 days after Mahagadhbandhan exit, Jitan Ram Manjhi returns to NDA

The Hindustani Awam Morcha has again joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, party chief Jitan Ram Manjhi announced after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The move comes two days after the HAM withdrew support to the Grand Alliance government comprising the Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Janata Dal-United in Bihar on Monday.

"From today (Wednesday), we are an NDA partner. We have agreed to support the NDA and the NDA is also ready to be with us. This is what we discussed today," Manjhi told reporters after his meeting with Shah.

Asked if the issue of seat-sharing in Bihar for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls came up at the meeting, he said any such discussion will take place when the time comes.

"As of now, we have agreed to walk along with the NDA and the NDA has also agreed to walk along with us. That is all we discussed at the meeting," the former Bihar chief minister said.

Accompanied by his son Santosh Suman, Manjhi met Shah at his residence in New Delhi.

The HAM withdrew support to the Grand Alliance government in Bihar on Monday and a letter to the effect was handed over to Governor Rajendra Arlekar.

Manjhi, after meeting the governor along with Suman, the national president of the HAM, said he will be in Delhi for the next few days during which he will try to meet leaders of the BJP-led NDA, including Shah, to explore future options.

Kumar had recently accused Manjhi of "spying on the Mahagathbandhan allies" for the benefit of the Bharatiya Janata Party and said his exit was good riddance.

The chief minister had also said Manjhi wanted to be part of a June 23 meeting of opposition parties, but he was apprehensive that the latter might leak details of the conclave to the BJP.

Suman resigned from Kumar's cabinet on June 13, alleging "pressure" from the Janata Dal-United to merge the HAM with it. Suman was the minister of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes welfare department in Bihar.

Manjhi (78) enjoyed a less-than-a-year-long tenure as the Bihar chief minister when Kumar stepped down in 2014, owning moral responsibility for the JD-U's drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls.

Manjhi's eight months in power were mired in controversies and he had to eventually step down, making way for Kumar's return to the top post.

He subsequently quit the JD-U, floated the HAM and joined the NDA, only to part ways with it in 2018. The party is yet to taste significant electoral success and has changed allegiance almost every two years.