Nitish Kumar has learnt a lot from Lalu Prasad Yadav. He has copied many thing from his ‘Bade Bhai’––be it the empowerment of downtrodden classes or the use of so-called socialistic political diction. 

On May 19, 2014 he did once again the same thing what Lalu did way back in July 1997 when he nominated Rabri Devi as the chief minister of Bihar.

But Nitish did it with a difference. While Lalu trusted none, but his home-maker spouse––as he was to surrender in fodder scam case––Nitish handpicked a mahadalit minister of his own cabinet to make him the chief minister for obvious personal and political interest.

Jitan Ram Manjhi’s name hardly figured on Saturday and Sunday. Even in the case of mahadalit the first name which came up was of the Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary. But then Nitish played his master-stroke and came up with Jitan Ram Manjhi, the Scheduled Castes welfare minister in his cabinet. 

Manjhi represents Makhdumpur Assembly constituency of Jehanabad Lok Sabha seat. He unsuccessfully contested from Gaya Lok Sabha reserved seat on Janata Dal (United) ticket but was placed third. He just managed to save his deposit. Three days after the result, to his own surprise, he is the new chief minister of Bihar.

In the Nitish ministry Jitan Ram Manjhi got off a very bad start. He had to resign from the cabinet just hours after he was sworn in as a minister when Nitish Kumar became the chief minister for the first time on November 24, 2005.

He had to resign as his name figured in the education department scam, when he was minister of state for education in the Rabri Devi cabinet. Surprisingly, Nitish was not aware of Manjhi’s involvement in the much-publicized scam. He immediately sought Manjhi’s resignation after the issue was raised at the first interaction with the Press on Nov 24, 2005 evening itself.

However, he was re-inducted into the Nitish cabinet after his name was cleared by the state Vigilance sometimes later.

Jitan Ram Manjhi––who started his political career in late 1970s and become the MLA for the first time on Congress party ticket from Fatehpur Assembly seats in Gaya district in 1980––is considered much less assertive than the Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary or any other mahadalit leaders of the Janata Dal (United).

By choosing him the outgoing chief minister scored over the party chief, Sharad Yadav, who was reportedly backing the then energy minister Bijendra Yadav. At the same time he tried to woo the mahadalits back into the party fold after a sizeable number of them voted for the BJP.

Apparently Nitish might have scored over his opponents but his rivals are interpreting it in quite a different way. They are of the view that it has nothing to do with the moral responsibility of defeat as Nitish tries to convey. In fact this is nothing but surrendering before Narendra Modi as he can not face him.

If the plan is to rule Bihar from behind with Jitan Ram Manjhi, the first Mushar––the rat-eating community considered weakest among mahadalits––as the CM, Nitish may soon be exposed by the Bharatiya Janata Party. If its leaders can not spare Sonia Gandhi when she tried to act from behind it would not take long for the people to know as to who is actually ruling by proxy.

Nitish may not succeed if the plan is to return once again to become the chief ministerial candidate on the eve of Oct 2015 Assembly election. His opponents would not sit idle. In fact they have started saying so from today itself.

The leader of opposition in the state Assembly Nand Kishore Yadav was quick to tease by stating that Nitish has left the field as he can not fulfil the promises he made to the people of the state by Oct 2015 Assembly election. Now he wants to make Manjhi as a sacrificial lamb.

True Manjhi is the first Dalit to become CM after Ram Sundar Das (1979-80) what the state fear most is the return of late 1960s-early 1970s type of political instability when the state had over a dozen CMs, whose tenures extended from five days to 13 days to 31 days etc. 

Bhola Paswan Shashtri, also a Dalit, became CM thrice during this period of political uncertainty.

But the big question is: Can Bihar afford any such rule by proxy at this stage? Ironically, once again a mahadalit has been chosen for this purpose.