File photo: Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and JD-U leader Nitish Kumar.
Nine months after he quit as Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar is ready to take charge of the state again. His strategy will have to involve a workaround to contend with the man he had installed as his replacement. Jitan Ram Manjhi says he's not going anywhere.
That does not appear to be an idle threat. He has declared as "illegal" a meeting called for tomorrow, where nearly over hundred state law-makers from the Janata Dal United or JDU were expected to formally urge Mr Kumar to return as Chief Minister.
Mr Manjhi says only one person has the authority to call that meeting - the serving Chief Minister.
Mr Kumar resigned after his party bombed in the national election, winning just two of the state's parliamentary seats.
Bihar votes later this year. The Janata Dal United's minority government in Bihar depends on the support of Lalu Yadav and his party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD. As campaigning is initiated, Lalu has sanctioned the return of Mr Kumar as head of state.
Mr Manjhi's term has not been a subdued one- he was apprenticed to a healthy row of controversies, including the assignation of key government positions to relatives. Praise for the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also a trademark of sorts to message that he could switch sides, and possibly engineer the defection of others from his party. That task has been made easier by the recent victories of the BJP in other state elections, where the PM campaigned extensively and proved that he can deliver big electoral results.
In a state where caste plays a central role, Mr Manjhi has also repeatedly highlighted that he a Mahadalit, one of the most underprivileged castes in Bihar, and a part of the vote bank that the Janata Dal United cannot do without.