Patna, Feb. 7: The politics in Bihar spilled out onto the streets where chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's supporters gathered to protest what they described a conspiracy to dislodge him unceremoniously.

Minutes before a meeting between Manjhi and former chief minister Nitish Kumar ended at the latter's 7 Circular Road residence, the chief minister's supporters began protesting in front of the Assembly main gate, raising anti-Nitish slogans.

'The JDU legislative party meeting, slated to take place here, is illegal. Jitan Ram Manjhi is the leader of the legislative party and only he can call such a meeting. This is a conspiracy against Manjhi and the Mahadalit community. Nitish has got into the bad influence of outsiders like Sharad Yadav and K.C. Tyagi and a plot is brewing against Manjhi. We won't allow any MLA to enter the Assembly,' Dalit Swabhiman Manch president Shantanu Kumar Paswan said.

Senior Patna police officers rushed to clear the protesters, who then barged into Sachivalaya police station with their sloganeering.

Nitish had instructed his supporters not to retaliate against pro-Manjhi protests. But his followers turned up in front of his house shouting 'Nitish Kumar Zindabad' while he was meeting Manjhi inside. 'Nitish made him CM and now Manjhi is conniving against our leader with the support of some ministers and the BJP,' one of them, said.

In Vaishali, Manjhi's supporters blocked Lalganj Road for over an hour, shouting anti-Nitish slogans. They all claimed the JDU, led by Nitish and Sharad Yadav, was conspiring to overthrow a Mahadalit. In Paliganj, on Patna's outskirts, protesters blocked a bus stand for an hour and burnt Sharad's effigy.

In Aurangabad, Manjhi supporters burnt Nitish's effigy while in Sheikhpura, Nitish supporters burnt Manjhi's.

On Friday, around 200 Manjhi supporters had marched along Beer Chand Patel Path with banners, shouting pro-Manjhi slogans. They later entered the JDU office and beat up two men who tried to stop them, before protesting in front of hotel Chanakya where Sharad was staying. They also burnt his effigy. 'We're not so much against Nitish. Sharad and KC Tyagi, who are outsiders, have hatched a conspiracy against Manjhi. Nitish has become a puppet in their hands,' a protester said.