BJP may go for early polls worried over oppn unity gaining momentum: Nitish

A cabinet notification confirming allocation of SC and ST welfare department to Ratnesh Sada came shortly after the swearing in.

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has caused a flutter by predicting early Lok Sabha polls, on Friday asserted that the possibility arose out of the ruling BJP's fears of his opposition unity drive gaining momentum. Talking to reporters here, Kumar also defended the ouster of former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi from the state's ruling 'Mahagathbandhan', alleging that the Hindustani Awam Morcha founder was virtually spying on opposition parties at the BJP's behest.

"I may have spoken about early polls in jest but it is also a strong possibility. Those in power at the Centre may sense that there is a lot of movement in the opposition camp", said Kumar, as part of whose efforts to forge opposition unity leaders of nearly a score of parties opposed to the BJP will converge here on June 23 for a conclave.

The JD(U) supreme leader was talking to reporters at the Raj Bhavan, after the swearing-in of party MLA Ratnesh Sada into the cabinet, which follows the resignation of Manjhi's son Santosh Suman, who was holding the SC and ST Welfare portfolio. A cabinet notification confirming allocation of SC and ST welfare department to Ratnesh Sada came shortly after the swearing in.

Apparently miffed by Manjhi's recent statement that Kumar had helped him become the CM in 2014 to cover up the embarrassment over JD(U)'s drubbing in Lok Sabha polls, Kumar underscored that he had stepped down against the wishes of party members. "Nobody wanted me to resign. But I stood my ground. There was no consensus among party men as to who should succeed me. So I had to intervene and I chose Manjhi thinking let there be a Scheduled Castes person in the chair", said Kumar.

Kumar, who is till date criticised by his detractors for the unceremonious removal of Manjhi within less than a year of becoming the CM, said "he started making a mess of everything within two months. I was left with no choice but to step in." Kumar insisted that despite the bad blood between Manjhi and himself, he always treated the HAM chief with respect, and ahead of the 2020 assembly polls, "When he expressed the desire to join hands, the BJP was not ready to make any adjustments with him on seats, so we parted with a few from our quota".

The chief minister also chided Manjhi for crying hoarse over his "loyalty" never being respected, pointing out that "when he decided to come to Mahagathbandhan with me, Suman's ministerial berth was protected". Manjhi had, after the doors of the Mahagathbandhan were slammed on him, alleged that Kumar had asked him to "merge" HAM with JD(U) or leave, which the chief minister did not deny but gave his side of the story.

"Of late he had begun to hobnob with the BJP people", said Kumar, apparently referring to Manjhi's meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in April. "I had received inputs that he was informing on Mahagathbandhan and its plans. He was very insistent on being a part of the June 23 meeting as well", said Kumar.

Notably, Manjhi has made no secret of the slight that he felt over not being invited to the meeting. His son Suman, interestingly, had said well after his resignation that HAM would like to be represented at the meeting even if it got a belated invitation. Kumar said, "I was apprehensive that he might be thinking of leaking to the BJP whatever deliberations would be held on June 23 when so many leaders from across the country will be sitting together".

Leaders who are expected at the meeting include Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Sharad Pawar, M K Stalin, Uddhav Thackeray, Akhilesh Yadav, Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti. Kumar said he tested the waters by asking Manjhi, again, to merge ahead of the meeting "but he said no. So I said then you leave. It is good riddance". About his remark on early polls, made at an official function, Kumar said "A government at the Centre always has this option. Early polls took place in 2004 too even though the then Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee was not in favour of the same".

"What I said was in jest (aise hi kah diya tha), but the possibility cannot be ruled out. The current dispensation may feel that if our opposition unity bid gathered momentum, it would inflict on them bigger losses. So they could take recourse to early polls", asserted Kumar, who had snapped ties with BJP about a year ago.