Manjhi walks out of alliance, cites Tejashwi’s ‘ineffective’ leadership

HAM (S) has not been on good terms with the RJD after its candidate in the recent Assembly bypolls from Nathnagar lost to the JD (U) by a slender margin. The RJD had blamed the loss for HAM (S) fielding its candidate. “We had been under pressure from workers to chart our own course,” Manjhi had said.

Confirming the exit, HAM (S) spokesperson Danish Rizwan told The Indian Express: “Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav has been invisible as the main Opposition voice. His leadership is ineffective. He has not been able to take along his alliance partners.”

Rizwan hinted at a fresh tie-up for HAM (S), but ruled out chances of going back to the ruling NDA. After winning just one seat in the Assembly elections in 2015, the party had tied-up with RJD for the Lok Sabha polls in 2019. The alliance however, failed to make an impact. But Manjhi remains an influential leader in the Magadh belts of Gaya and Jehanabad and areas of Purnia and Khagaria.

However, the RLSP confirmed on Friday that it was in talks with the Left. Asked if the participation of the two Left parties in the party’s rally later this month was the first step towards an alliance, RLSP state president (campaign) Jitendra Nath said, “The two Left parties and RLSP have agreed to carry out protests against government failures on several counts. We have been in talks with Left parties to broaden our alliance.”