Patna: The ruling JDU-BJP combine is hoping that social welfare minister Manu Verma's resignation over the Muzaffarpur shelter home horror will translate into her caste, which is the second-largest bloc in the Other Backward Classes in Bihar, voting for the NDA.

Ever since the name of Manju's husband Chandeshwar Verma cropped up in the Muzaffarpur case, the NDA camp has been projecting a narrative that the RJD leadership is targeting the minister, a Kushwaha.

The Kushwahas are estimated to constitute around 9 per cent of the total population of Bihar, the second-largest caste among the OBC after the Yadavs who constitute about 14 per cent of the state's population and who are considered to be staunch supporters of the Lalu Prasad-led RJD.

"Tejashwi's attack against Manju has given a message that a Kushwaha leader is being targeted. This perception would certainly help us in coming elections and Kushwaha voters would think twice before casting their vote for the RJD or its allies," a JDU insider told The Telegraph.

The minister too has been trying to give a caste colour to the Opposition attacks on her, including at the Legislative Council on July 26. The same day, during a media interaction as well, she had claimed that she was being targeted because she is a woman and is from the Kushwaha caste.

Manu resigned on Wednesday - after it came to light that her husband was in touch with Brajesh Thakur, the proprietor of the NGO that ran the Balika Grih in Muzaffarpur where at least 34 minor girls were raped - and promptly blamed Tejashwi. She told reporters that the chief minister didn't ask her to resign but she did so because of the furore created by the media and Tejashwi Yadav against her.

"It is a win-win situation for us because Tejashwi's image has taken a beating among Kushwaha voters, whereas ours is set to be bolstered because our leaders stood rock solid with Manju. Also, she has been replaced by another Kushwaha leader," said a JDU source.

The source also claimed that silence of RLSP leaders like Upendra Kushwaha and Nagmani, who claim to have sway over Kushwaha votes, had created doubts in the minds of their community.

The source pointed out how "all prominent Bihar NDA leaders attacked Tejashwi and other RJD leaders by highlighting their (RJD's) conduct vis-à-vis women".