Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has made a stir by forecasting early Lok Sabha elections, said on Friday that the possibility originated from the governing BJP's worries that his opposition unity push would gain traction, news agency PTI reported.
Speaking with reporters, CM Kumar also justified the removal of former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi from the state's ruling 'Mahagathbandhan,' stating that the founder of the Hindustani Awam Morcha was practically spying on opposition parties at the BJP's request.
"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 he is trying to bring together leaders from almost 20 parties that are against the BJP for a meeting on June 23.
The JD(U) supreme leader was speaking to media at the Raj Bhavan during the inauguration of party MLA Ratnesh Sada as cabinet minister, following the resignation of Manjhi's son Santosh Suman, who held the SC and ST Welfare portfolio.
Soon after the inauguration, a cabinet notice confirmed Ratnesh Sada's appointment to the SC and ST welfare department.
Apparently irritated by Manjhi's recent assertion that Kumar assisted him in becoming CM in 2014 in order to cover up the JD(U)'s humiliation in Lok Sabha polls, Kumar emphasised that he had stood down against the views 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", Kumar was quoted by PTI in its report.
Kumar, who has been chastised by his adversaries for the unceremonious departure of Manjhi after less than a year in office, stated that "he started making a mess of everything within two months." I had no choice except to intervene." Kumar insisted that, despite their feud, he always treated Manjhi with respect, and that, ahead of the 2020 assembly elections, "when he expressed a 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 further chastised Manjhi for sobbing hysterically over his "loyalty" not being honoured, noting that "when he decided to come to Mahagathbandhan with me, Suman's ministerial berth was protected."
After the Mahagathbandhan doors were closed in his face, Manjhi claimed that Kumar had instructed him to "merge" HAM with JD(U) or leave, which the chief minister did not refute but did provide his side of the story.
"Of late, he had begun to hobnob with the BJP people," Kumar claimed, alluding to Manjhi's April encounter with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
"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 his disappointment at not being invited to the conference. Surprisingly, his son Suman stated long after his resigned that HAM would prefer to be represented at the summit, even if it received 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".