Jitan Ram Manjhi: News

Born to agricultural laborers in 1944 in Gaya, Bihar, Jitan Ram Manjhi is a former Chief Minister of Bihar. As of 2021, he is the President of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), which he founded in 2015. Manjhi began his political career in 1980 when he won a seat in the Legislative Assembly from Fatehpur in the Gaya district. He soon became a crucial member of Chief Minister Chandrashekhar Singh's government. He won again from the same constituency in 1985 but failed to get re-elected in 1990. After the 1990 election loss, he quit Congress and joined the Janata Dal. In 1996, when the Janata Dal split and Lalu Prasad Yadav founded Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Manjhi chose to join the latter but quit the part in 2004. He served as the Minister for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Welfare of Bihar, he was appointed the Chief Minister by JD(U) chief and then CM Nitish Kumar. However, Kumar changed his mind and, in nine months, the party asked him to step down as the Chief Minister in 2015. But on Manjhi's refusal, he was ousted from the JD(U); so he went on to form his own party, the HAM, the same year and won one seat in the 2015 election.