Patna: With Bihar Assembly elections likely to be held in September-October 2015, hectic parleys are underway in the state. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad will be holding talks with Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday to remove irritants in the path of the merger of the Janata Parivar.
There have been considerable differences in the formation of Janata Parivar before the state assembly polls. The RJD chief had on Thursday caused a stir in Janata Dal United (JDU) by inviting former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi to be a part of the Janata Parivar.
"Be it merger or alliance, there is a need for broader unity of parties to fight together against BJP. Manjhi and others shall come forward for this," the RJD President had said.
However, Manjhi refused to accept Lalu's invitation and said that he will not join hands with any coalition which has Nitish in it. Manjhi had floated Hindustani Awam Party after being ousted as chief minister and is said to be veering towards the BJP.
Lalu's invitation to Manjhi has not gone down well with JDU. State party president Basistha Narayan Singh said there was "no point" in bringing Manjhi into the picture due to his reported proximity to BJP.
"Manjhi is not in the to do list of Janata Party unity process. Nitish Kumar had chosen him for the chair of chief minister, but he turned out to be a puppet in the hands of BJP," state JD(U) spokesman Neeraj Kumar said.
Brishen Patel, a former minister and close aide of Manjhi, however, thanked Lalu for the invitation but made it clear that his party will not be a part of any political combination which has Nitish Kumar.
Nitish had made Manjhi the CM in May 2014 after JDU's crushing defeat in Lok Sabha elections. But Manjhi, who belongs to the Mushahar community which belongs to poorest section of the society in the state, started to court controversy soon after taking office by his comments which targeted the upper castes.
He later refused to make way for Nitish Kumar to take over as Bihar CM in early 2015 following which he and his supporters were expelled from the JDU. After claiming the support of a majority of JDU MLAs Manjhi finally refused to seek a vote of confidence and resigned on February 20, 2015.
Nitish Kumar took over as Bihar CM for the fourth time on February 22, 2015. The term of the current Assembly ends on November 29, 2015.
The state will witness a direct contest between the NDA and Janata Parivar of Lalu and Nitish. Aparty from the BJP, the NDA also has Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party and Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samata Party.
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