Patna, Sept. 11: The battle between the LJP boss, Ram Vilas Paswan, and his HAMS counterpart Jitan Ram Manjhi would go beyond the seat-sharing exercise and also the Assembly elections.
Manjhi, at his meeting with his NDA peers today in New Delhi, "authorised" the BJP to take a decision on the seats to fall in his party's share, indicating a truce in the run-up to the polls. But the "truce" in all likelihood is "temporary", given the competitive ambitions of the two Dalit leaders - Paswan and Manjhi - to rule the Dalit turf in Bihar.
In fact, apart from trying to avenge the "insult" of his ouster as the chief minister - engineered by Nitish Kumar - Manjhi is also believed to be locked in the battle to "replace" Paswan as the "most powerful" Dalit face on the state's political firmament.
Ever since he left Nitish and joined the NDA, Manjhi has been projecting himself as the bigger leader of Dalits than Paswan. "I belong to the Musahar - a Mahadalit community that constitutes over 12 per cent of the state's population. I have more seating MLAs in on my side in the House. My concern should be taken care of," Manjhi said.
Overall, the Dalits constitute nearly 16 per cent of the state's population. Paswan is believed to be the undisputed leader of his caste men - Paswans who constitute nearly 4 per cent of the state's voters. Nitish bracketed all the Dalits, minus Paswan - as Mahadalits, which Manjhi is staking claim on.
Now, the nine-term MP Ram Vilas Paswan, probably, for the first time has got a competitor claiming the latter's hegemony over the Dalit base across the state. Paswan had his share of rivals - Assembly Speaker Udai Narayan Choudhary, state ministers Ramai Ram, Shyam Rajak, Sararam MP Chhedi Paswan among others who challenged him on localised basis but never got into the position to take on his larger clout with the dalits all across the state.
Manjhi, on the other hand, is battling to enjoy parity with Paswan or even bigger status than him on the table for negotiation with the BJP. Where Manjhi lacks is that he is yet to prove his clout in elections the manner in which Paswan has proved many times. For instance, Paswan, beginning his career as an MLA from Alauli in 1969, has gone on to win Lok Sabha polls nine times. Fighting independently, his LJP won 29 Assembly seats in the February 2005 elections, realistically halting Rabri Devi's comeback to power.
Moroever, Paswan has, time and again, proved his capability to transfer his caste votes to whichever party he joined. For instance, Paswans voted for Lalu when the latter's RJD was in alliance with the LJP and they switched to the BJP when Ram Vilas shifted his loyalty to the BJP.
Manjhi, though began his Legislative journey in early 1980s, he was hardly known as a Dalit leader. He is trying to emerge a Dalit leader in its real sense and on a pan-Bihar basis only after pulling out from Nitish who saddled him as the chief minister. Manjhi will be recognised as a Dalit leader on a par with Paswan or bigger than the latter only when he fares better than Paswan in the battle of ballots.
It might not be an easy task for Manjhi. In Magadh region itself, which he belongs to, Manjhi will face a bigger challenge from Udai Narayan Choudhary - so far a bigger face than Manjhi among the Mahadalits. Choudhary, a JDU MLA from Sherghati (Gaya) will try to engage Manjhi on the Mahadalit turf in the Magadh region itself. Then Manjhi will find Shyam Rajak (JDU) in Phulwarisharif (Patna) and Ramai Ram, another nine-term MLA and JDU's Mahadalit face in the Tirhut region of north Bihar to fight against. Lalu Prasad's RJD too has its share of Dalit and Mahadalit faces ready to take on Manjhi on the SC reserved seats in Siwan and Gopalganj districts.
"If Manjhi's HAMS fares badly, it will hurt the BJP-led NDA's cause in Bihar. If his party does well, he will resume his battle against Paswan's LJP in the post poll scenario. Manjhi-Paswan tussle is not going to end in immediate future," said a senior BJP strategist on the cover of anonymity.
