Jitan Ram Manjhi ‘ousted’, Nitish Kumar elected

Patna: After months of internal conflict that had derailed governance in Bihar, Janata Dal (United) leader and former chief minister Nitish Kumar virtually seized power from Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Saturday.

“We have the numbers in our favour and we will certainly stake claim to form the government,” said Nitish Kumar after he was elected leader by the legislators.

In the wake of the humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections in May, Nitish Kumar had hand-picked Mr Manjhi, a dalit leader, and handed over the CM’s chair to him. Later Mr Manjhi refused to be guided by his predecessor and this had irked Mr Kumar and his supporters in Patna and Delhi.