It reads like the story of a king who fled the battlefield even before unsheathing his sword. This is what exactly Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi did on Friday as he went to Raj Bhavan, instead of Assembly, and resigned, instead of facing the floor test. The resignation in a most dramatic manner came when the Assembly was ready for the joint session of both the Houses which was to be addressed by Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi. As per the programme, Manjhi was to seek trust vote after Governor's address. But at 10.15 Manjhi drove to Raj Bhavan and handed over resignation of his Government an hour before the start of the Budget Session and the Governor's address. The Governor accepted his resignation. Manjhi is reportedly considering to float his own party since he already has been expelled by the JD(U).
Manjhi, who got the support of the BJP, had realised that the required number still eluded him and there was no more scope for luring more members despite open offer of Ministry which he openly threw on Thursday, he decided to quit. It is learnt that he even did not inform the BJP about his sudden decision.
The main reason for resigning he offered was that his supporting MlAs were under serious threat to their lives. “They wanted to vote for me but they had been threatened with dire consequences and I did not want to put their lives under threat. But I still say that I have support of 140 MlAs who will vote for me if floor test is held through secret voting,” he said. Within minutes he claimed, “I expected 180 to 200 MlAs to vote for me in case of secret ballot. But in open voting they were frightened and I did not want bloodshed. So I told the Governor that I prefer to resign despite enjoying support.” Never before in the parliamentary system in the country had this sort of incident happened when a Chief Minister resigned hours before the address of the Governor. Assembly Speaker Udai Narain Choudhary, who is under attack from Manjhi and the BJP, adjourned the House sine die.
While Manjhi vented his ire against Nitish Kumar, who anointed him on this post exactly nine months ago on May 20, 2014 after he resigned owing moral responsibility of JD(U)'s defeat in lok Sabha polls, accusing him of being surrounded by corrupt people. “Nitish got panicked over my popularity and thought that he will lose the power for ever if I continued,” said Manjhi while admitting that Nitish used to be his Adarsh Purush (iconic figure). He also felt surprised why RJD supremo lalu Prasad, who was opposed to disturb him, changed his mood.
Outgoing CM said Nitish selected him to work and he worked for two three months at his instructions. “All the Ministers were selected by him and allotted portfolio by him. The lists of transfers and postings come to me just to sign the file. I had no say in anything,” he alleged but added that when he tried to assert he became an eyesore. Manjhi said he has called a meeting of his supporters to chart out future course of action on February 28. “If there is proposal to form a separate party I will consider it,” he said.
Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi commented, “Manjhi won in his defeat and Nitish lost in his victory.” Claiming that his party exposed Nitish's lust of power and his 'anti-Dalit' face, he asked if Nitish would seek public apology for opposing Narendra Modi and humiliating a Mahadalit CM. He also returned the charge of playing caste card. The former deputy CM advised JD(U) leadership instead of forming a Government now it should prefer fresh election and seek fresh mandate in the larger interest of the State.