Shillong, June 21: Jitan Ram Manjhi, the leader of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, a day after withdrawing his party’s support from the Mahagathbandhan alliance in Bihar, reports have suggested.
The meeting, lasting approximately 45 minutes, indicated that HAM is highly inclined to contest the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the NDA coalition. Santosh Kumar Suman, the son of HAM’s chief and former Bihar Cabinet minister, who resigned on June 13, was also present during the meeting.
This development follows Jitan Ram Manjhi’s recent meeting with Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at Raj Bhawan, where he submitted an official letter withdrawing the support of his four MLAs from the Mahagathbandhan alliance.
“My party had initially extended support during the formation of Mahagathbandhan… however, we are now retracting it,” stated Manjhi. The decision to withdraw support stems from the strained relationship between Manjhi and Nitish Kumar, triggered by the resignation of Santosh Kumar. Allegedly, Santosh Kumar accused Nitish Kumar of pressuring him to merge his party with JD-U or exit the alliance. Opting for the latter choice, he decided to leave the alliance.