Bihar ex-chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi to try his luck from Gaya for third time

GAYA: In what promises to be a Manjhi versus Manjhi battle for the

Gaya

parliamentary seat, former CM

Jitan Ram Manjhi

would be making his third attempt to reach the

Lok Sabha

through Gaya route.


The former CM had contested the 1991 election on a Congress ticket but lost to Rajesh Kumar, the nominee of incarcerated RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s the then Janata Dal. Manjhi tried his luck a second time in 2014 on a JD(U) ticket, but forfeited even his security deposit against Hari Manjhi of BJP. The former CM polled only 1.31 lakh votes against 3.26 lakhs polled by Hari. Ramji Manjhi, the RJD candidate, was the runner-up in 2014 with 2.1 lakh votes.

Challenging the former CM this time would be Vijay Manjhi, by all accounts a political rookie making his debut in parliamentary elections. Vijay had won the Barachatti assembly seat as the RJD candidate in 2005.

According to activist Motibhai, it would be an interesting fight between an established Dalit leader and a novice having a high- value electoral symbol. “Though lacking in experience compared to the former CM, Vijay has two powerful leaders to bank upon: PM Narendra Modi and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar,” said Motibhai.

What makes the contest more interesting is the fact that not long ago, Manjhi was part of the NDA and won the Imamganj assembly seat in 2015 as the NDA candidate. According to VHP district chief Mani Lal Barik, Manjhi enjoys good personal rapport with many NDA leaders and workers.

According to activist SB Bhaskar, former CM Manjhi is the only leader of the Magadh region who was tacitly supported by the BJP in 1991. Recalling the 1991 parliamentary elections, Bhaskar said in order to defeat Lalu’s nominee Rajesh, Congress campaign incharge and the then Union minister Kalpanath Rai and local BJP leaders had reached an understanding.

BJP leaders, under the informal arrangement, transferred votes to Congress nominee Manjhi and as a consequence, BJP official nominee Nagia Devi, widow of former MP Ishwar Chaudhary, lost her security deposits. That was the only time a BJP candidate lost the security deposit in Gaya. But Manjhi could not win the seat.

Besides the reflected aura of PM Modi and CM Nitish, the NDA candidate has a formidable political lineage as well. Vijay’s mother Bhagwati Devi had won the Gaya seat in 1996 as Lalu’s nominee.

According to Gaya watchers, Vijay has little to lose in this election. If he wins the Gaya seat, he will be hailed as a “giant killer”. If he lost, he will be losing to a well-established political leader of the state.