Patna: Even as his party delivered an impressive five out of six contested seats in the recent Bihar Assembly polls, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) supremo Jitan Ram Manjhi smiles wide – not a single winning MLA from his outfit made it to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s expanded cabinet. Yet, the former CM is celebrating, and the reason is deeply personal and politically astute.
Manjhi’s joy stems from his son, Santosh Kumar Suman, retaining his ministerial berth for a third consecutive term. A Bihar Legislative Council member and HAM national president, the erudite Suman – armed with an MA in Political Science from Delhi University, UGC-NET qualification and a PhD – has been rewarded despite HAM’s legislators being overlooked.
Sources close to the party say there are no rumours of discontent within the ranks. “Santosh ji’s continuation is a big victory for us,” a senior HAM leader told reporters, underlining the family’s unchallenged dominance. Manjhi abruptly pulled Suman out of the cabinet in 2023 to assert independence; his return now signals strengthened bargaining power within the NDA.
Political analysts see it as classic coalition arithmetic: with five MLAs from extremely backward castes, HAM remains a valuable ally for Nitish Kumar, even if the reward flows through the MLC route rather than direct Assembly representation.
For Manjhi, who once helmed Bihar as chief minister, seeing his son firmly entrenched in power corridors is satisfaction enough.