Headlines
JD-U expels Manjhi, Nitish stakes claim
Patna, Feb 9
It was a day of high political
drama in Bihar as Nitish Kumar staked claim to form the government after
defiant Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi was expelled by the JD-U which
has blamed the BJP for trying to split it.
Days after Manjhi
refused to quit and dug in his heels, things came to a boil Monday, with
Nitish Kumar meeting Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi and formally staking
claim to form the next government.
"Manjhi is encouraging and
trying for horse trading," Nitish Kumar told the media outside Raj
Bhavan here after he, along with party chief Sharad Yadav and Rashtriya
Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, met the governor.
Nitish Kumar,
along with 130 legislators belonging to his Janata Dal-United (JD-U),
the RJD, the Congress and the Communist Party of India, had marched to
Raj Bhavan.
Manjhi was hand-picked by then chief minister Nitish
Kumar as his replacement when he quit last year after the JD-U's rout in
the Lok Sabha polls.
In the 243-member assembly, the JD-U has
115 legislators -- most of whom are reportedly with Nitish Kumar. It is
backed by 24 legislators of the RJD, five of the Congress, two
Independents and one from the CPI.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 88 legislators and is supported by three Independents.
"It
appears that Manjhi has got horse trading licence after he met Modi in
Delhi," said Nitish Kumar referring to Manjhi's meeting in Delhi Sunday
with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"We, including Sharad Yadav
and Lalu Prasad, have informed Governor Tripathi that majority is with
us and we are ready to prove it in the state assembly any time either
today (Monday), or within 24 or 48 hours," he said.
He said they will wait for the decision of the governor to invite him to take oath and form the next government.
But
he warned that if the governor failed to invite him to form the next
government soon, they will parade their legislators before the president
in Delhi.
Hours earlier, JD-U expelled Manjhi from the party, blaming the BJP for orchestrating the episode.
"Manjhi
has been expelled from the party (for six years). He has been indulging
in anti-party activities," party leader K.C. Tyagi said in Delhi
Monday.
"All the things that happened were scripted. Operation
Jitan Ram Manjhi has been orchestrated by (BJP president) Amit Shah," he
added.
In Patna, JD-U leader Shrawan Kumar, who is considered
close to Nitish Kumar, told IANS that the party has also informed
Governor Tripathi about Manjhi's expulsion from the JD-U.
Nitish Kumar was re-elected the JD-U legislature party leader Saturday.
JD-U
spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said the numbers are with Nitish Kumar as he
enjoys the support of the majority of the party legislators and its
allies, the RJD and the Congress.
The crisis in Bihar's ruling
JD-U deepened after Manjhi asserted he will not resign, while the rival
camp led by Nitish Kumar announced it will stake claim to power.
According to JD-U sources, only 12 party legislators are with Manjhi.
Meanwhile,
Manjhi's loyalist JD-U MLA Rajeshwar Raj Monday petitioned the Patna
High Court against Sharad Yadav who, he contended, illegally summoned a
legislature party meeting which Saturday elected Nitish Kumar as its new
leader.
"I have filed a petition in the Patna High Court against
Yadav's decision to call the meeting for re-electing Nitish Kumar as
the new leader because it was unconstitutional and illegal," he said.
Manjhi had already termed Yadav's decision to call the meeting illegal.