Bihar: Nitish Kumar To Expand Cabinet, Ratnesh Sada To Replace Santosh Manjhi

MLA from Sobarsha constituency, Ratnesh Sada belongs to Musahar community and is three-time legislator from JD(U) who is associated with Kabirpanthi. 

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to expand his cabinet ( Image Source :PTI )

The Nitish Kumar-led Bihar cabinet is expected to witness expansion ahead of its Mahagathbandhan meeting on June 23. The development comes after Hindustan Awam Morcha patron and former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s son Santosh Manjhi announced resignation from the cabinet. Ratnesh Sada from Janata Dal (United) quota is likely to replace Manjhi, as per ABP News sources. MLA from Sobarsha (SC) constituency, Sada belongs to the Musahar community. The three-time legislator from JD(U) is associated with Kabirpanthi. 

A Sanskrit graduate, Sada is also a member of the Dharmik Nyas Board. 

Nitish Kumar Accepts Santosh Manjhi’s Resignation 

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday accepted Manjhi’s resignation who said that he quit the cabinet after JD(U)’s proposal of merger. "When we spoke to our workers and MLAs, everyone rejected the merger. We respect the sentiments of JDU, but our party has also been formed on some issues," he said.

"Therefore it was better that we choose the path of struggle, so we rejected the proposal of a merger," he added. 

On being asked to go with NDA, Santosh said no decision has been taken in this regard, adding a decision will be taken after discussing it with others. 

In a veiled reference to JD(U) and RJD, Santosh alleged that the "major" parties want to end his party's existence and that is why he walked out of the alliance. "Our party has separated itself from the Mahagathbandhan. We wanted to remain but the major parties do not want to keep us and want to end the existence of the party, so we have also decided to break away from the alliance," he said. 

The opposition BJP in the state was quick to claim that the development was a dampener for Nitish Kumar's opposition unity efforts as part of which he will be hosting a conclave next week, to be attended by bigwigs like Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, and Arvind Kejriwal.