Bihar polls will be fought under leadership of Nitish: Jitan Ram Manjhi

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Friday asserted that the NDA will contest the assembly polls in Bihar due later this year under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Speaking to reporters in Patna on the sidelines of a 'Dalit Samagam' held under the banner of his Hindustani Awam Morcha, Manjhi also said he would "welcome" entry into politics of the chief minister's son Nishant, whom he called "young" and "capable".

"The NDA will win 225 plus seats of the 243-strong Bihar Assembly under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar," asserted Manjhi, while dismissing the opposition's charge that the BJP was planning to "devour" the JD(U) in the run-up to elections.

"They are defeated people and losers tend to speak this type of language," replied Manjhi, a former chief minister himself, when his response was sought on RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav's claim that the BJP would be worried if Nishant entered politics as it would scuttle the saffron party's plans to devour the party headed by Nitish Kumar.

"Nitish Kumar's son is young. He looks capable of handling public life. If he shows the inclination to enter active politics, we would welcome it," he said.

Incidentally, Kumar, who is Manjhi's former mentor, had also made a brief appearance at the 'Dalit Samagam', where the attendees included other NDA partners such as Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary.