Sudarshan Manjhi, alias Tantan Manjhi, aged 46, will vote for the BJP candidate in Rajgir constituency. Not because he is a BJP supporter, but because of his mama Jitan Ram Manjhi, the NDA’s Mahadalit face.
Former Chief Minister’s nephew, Tantan lives in a mud-brick hut. He loads and unloads heavy gunny bags of grains and earns `100-150 per day @ `1.50 per bag, toiling dawn to dusk. Mama ji has not visited Tatnan, who lives with his two minor daughters and two sons, for years. His wife lives in her parents’ house away from this village and elder daughter is married. The two sons and two daughters study in a school run by the labour department.
The last time Jitan Manjhi visited this Musahar hamlet was some six-seven years ago when his elder sister and Tantan’s mother Rajhia Devi died. Tantan is illiterate and has no idea in which year his mother died. When he fumbled, villagers tried to correct him about the year his mother died. Rajhia was married to Brahan Manjhi and the couple had four sons. While two died, one lives in Jitan’s village Mahkar in Gaya district.
Tantan got no help from his famous maternal uncle who is in politics for about four decades and had been Minister in the Congress, RJD and JD(U) Governments before becoming Chief Minister in May 2014.
“Sometimes back I went to Patna and met Mama ji. Earlier also I met him when he was the Chief Minister. He was very kind. He asked me to have meal and that’s all,” said Tantan.
Did he ask about his conditionIJ “He knows everything. He has seen himself. I don’t need to tell him,” replied Tantan and adds with a sense of pride, “I have freedom to visit him anytime.”
And how much Jitan Manjhi is attached to himIJ “He got his head shaved after my mother’s shradh,” he grinned while putting on T-shirt.
His neighbour Sri Manjhi, who has put two BJP flags on his hut, said all Musahars were with Jitan Manjhi and will vote for BJP candidate Satyadeo Narayan Araya, an eight-term MlA, “He did nothing for us though.” He adds, “We will go to Rajgir on October 26 to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi and our leader Jitan Manjhi.”
Silao Musahri Tola has about 250 huts of Musahars, who built their huts on a Government land some 35 years back. Asked why they did not ask Jitan Manjhi for Indira Awas units for them when he was CM, they look at each other and Tantan said, “He was CM for only 3-4 months.” This reporter corrected him that Manjhi was CM for nine months. “We are comfortable here and did not want to move to other place,” another villager said.