HAM leader steps down, alleging pressure to merge party with JDU

In a sudden move, Bihar Minister Santosh Suman resigned from the state cabinet on Tuesday, alleging “pressure” to merge his Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD (U). Suman, who held the SC and ST welfare portfolio, is the national president of HAM, founded by his father, Jitan Ram Manjhi, a former chief minister.
“I have sent my resignation to the chief minister and personally met Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (a senior JD(U) leader and minister) to explain my point. I hope my resignation will be accepted. We are, though, not pulling out of the Mahagathbandhan,” Suman told reporters. He pointed out that his father, who then headed the party, had decided to quit the NDA last year and join the Mahagathbandhan because of his loyalty towards the chief minister. “It is for the CM to decide whether we are kept in the Mahagathbandhan or expelled. We will decide accordingly. But in view of the JD (U)’s proposal, I had to take a decision to save my party from extinction. Hence, I resigned,” said Suman. The opposition BJP in the state was quick to claim that the development was a dampener for Nitish Kumar’s opposition unity efforts, as part of which he will be hosting a conclave next week to be attended by bigwigs like Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, and Arvind Kejriwal.
“The resignation of Jitan Ram Manjhi’s son is proof of the chasm that exists in the Mahagathbandhan. The alliance has been rejected by the people, and it will become evident in the Lok Sabha polls next year and culminate in the defeat of the Mahagathbandhan in the assembly elections a year later,” said BJP national spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain.