'Rahul Gandhi has promised me to give a Congress ticket to contest the polls.'
Bhagirath Manjhi, son of Dashrath Manjhi, popularly known as the 'Mountain Man', has made it clear that he is keen to contest the Bihar assembly election as a Congress candidate.
"If I get a Congress ticket I will contest the polls," says Bhagirath Manjhi at the Sadaqat Ashram in Patna, the state Congress headquarters.
Rahul Gandhi assured Bhagirath Manjhi that he would to look into his request to contest the assembly polls as a Congress nominee.
Rahul built a pucca house for Bhagirath Manjhi's family in their Gehlaur village in Gaya district.
Last month Rahul handed over the keys of the newly built house to Bhagirath Manjhi during his Voter Adhikar Yatra in Gaya.
Bhagirath Manjhi reveals he had approached Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who like Bhagirath Manjhi belongs to the Musahar, the poorest Dalit community, but neither leader helped him.
"I never expected that Rahul Gandhi would build a house for me when he visited us in June," says Bhagirath Manjhi.
"Rahul Gandhi has promised me to give a Congress ticket to contest the polls," says Bhagirath Manjhi who met Bihar Congress President Rajesh Ram and state Congress in-charge Krishna Allavaru in Patna last week.
"Bhagirath Manjhi demanded a ticket to contest the polls," says Rajesh Ram. "We will send his demand to the party high command to decide."
The Musahar community constitutes 3% of Bihar's population.
Bhagirath Manjhi is ready to contest the election from the Imamganj or Barachatti assembly constituencies in Gaya.
Both Imamganj and Barachatti were won in 2020 by Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha.
HAM MLAs Dipa Manjhi and Joyti Manjhi are related to Jitan Ram Manjhi.
Early in 2025, Bhagirath Manjhi joined the Congress after quitting Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United party.
Bhagirath Manjhi's father Dashrath Manjhi, who lived in Gehlaur village in Gaya, single handedly carved a path 110 metres long (360 feet), 9.1 metres (30 feet) wide and 7.7 metres (25 feet) deep through a ridge of hills using only a hammer and chisel in 22 years.
His hard work shortened the travel between the Atri and Wazirganj blocks of Gaya town from 55 km to 15 km. Dashrath Manjhi executed this endeavour without government or private assistance.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff