New Delhi, May 22, 2014: Lalu Prasad-led RJD on Thursday announced support to the new JD(U) government of Jitan Ram Manjhi in Bihar.
Manjhi, a ‘mahadalit’ and once a clerk in the Posts and Telegraph department and who had stints as a minister in Congress, RJD and JD(U) governments since 1980, was sworn in as the 32nd Chief Minister of Bihar after Nitish Kumar quit the post in the wake of debacle in the Lok Sabha elections.
The new Jitan Ram Manjhi government had decided to call a special session of Bihar Assembly on May 23 to seek the trust vote on the floor of the House.
The vote of confidence would not be a problem for the Manjhi government as in the 237-member Assembly, JD(U) now enjoys the support of 138 MLAs including the Speaker, two Independents and one from the CPI. The four-member Congress has given a letter of support for Manjhi government. BJP, on the other hand has a strength of 88.