Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi yesterday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The meeting came amid talks of the merger of six old Janata Parivar splinter parties ahead of the assembly polls in Bihar later this year. Talking to media persons after the meeting, Manjhi said, he will work to defeat the Janata Parivar in the state elections and is open to a tie up with BJP.
Manjhi, who was ousted from JD(U) after he protested the party’s decision to remove him as Chief Minister, however, claimed that he will contest the polls on his own and may join hands with BJP later on. He is expected to announce formation of a new political party at a rally in Patna on 20th of this month. When asked about the merger of JD(U) and RJD, the former Chief Minister said, the real JD(U) will remain with him and claimed to have support of 28 MLAs.