Sir — This refers to the editorial “Manjhi and the others” (February 7). Embattled Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has ensured that powerful politicians will think twice before pitchforking their perceived ‘yes men’ to top posts to keep their seats warm. For Mr Nitish Kumar, the Manjhi experiement was poorly planned. It’s also a case for social engineering gone wrong.
Mr Nitish Kumar failed to gauge Mr Manjhi’s strengths and took the latter’s weaknesses for granted. He seems to have been caught unawares by Mr Manjhi’s unexpected ability to change from a ‘rubber stamp’ leader to a Chief Minister who could stamp his own authority. The JD(U)’s tie-up with the RJD, and that party chief’s antipathy towards Mr Manjhi added fuel to fire. However, what did not go well with Mr Nitish Kumar was Mr Manjhi’s profuse praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which the latter cleverly termed as ‘issue-based’.