meraapnabihar

McCluskieganj, Tagore Hill and more: Places you must visit when in Ranchi.

Source – hindustantimes.com

Ever since captain cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni (ex-captain now) exploded onto the scene of Indian cricket, many of those visiting this capital of the comparatively younger state of Jharkhand, also try to catch a glimpse of the dynamic cricketer’s house. Ranchi now has become almost synonymous to Dhoni and his growing up years, especially after the release of his Bollywood biopic in the year 2016.

However, Ranchi was already famous before MS Dhoni in the eyes of tourists for various reasons. Before the Indian Independence, it was considered a hill station and even after it, because of its salubrious climate, people flocked to it in search of better health. Ranchi is a part of the Chota Nagpur hilly tracts and this region was ruled by the Nagvanshi Dynasty who supposedly started their rule from the early years of the Christian era till the time they became tributaries to the British East India Company who reduced them to the status of Zamindars.

The last Nagvanshi, Maharaj Lal Chintamani Sharan Nath Shahdeo, died in the year 2014 (he was an MLA too). Another curious trivia about this place is that its name has supposedly come from the tribal Oraon word for bamboo stave, which a farmer used against an evil spirit who shouted ‘archi’ in pain which later corrupted into Ranchi. This is a legend though. In the 21st century, Ranchi is an ever growing bustling city and a very interesting one with all its commercial potential and numerous tourist attractions. Here are some of its main tourist attractions:

McCluskieganj: Anybody who has seen the hauntingly brilliant movie ‘A Death in the Gunj’ (2017) which was directed by Konkona Sen Sharma (her debut as a director), wouldn’t ever forget the images of this place shown in the movie. The small hilly town is situated around an hour and a half’s drive from Ranchi and named after Ernest Timothy McCluskie who founded it for the Anglo-Indians. This place with its old mansions and peaceful surroundings is something where time has stood still forever. It has a charm of its own and highly recommended for any traveller who is visiting Ranchi. A couple of days in McCluskieganj might rejuvenate the spirit with its unspoilt air and old settings.

Patratu Ghati or Valley: Patratu Ghati is a beautiful valley which can be reached through its winding streets covered in lush green vegetation. This green valley is also the location of a famous dam and as per local people there, it is also the place where numerous Hindi and regional movies have been shot. Well, that’s not a surprise as the valley is really beautiful and can be reached in an hour’s time from Ranchi city centre.

Tagore Hill: Tagore Hill is a view point now in Morabadi with breath-taking vistas of sunrises and sunsets. As the name suggests, this place is of course related to the Nobel laureate Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore. His house atop the hill, which was originally built by one of his brothers, can be visited now. It is said that Rabindranath Tagore used to enjoy the views all around from this hill, which also inspired him to pen down many of his famous works. This is a very interesting place in Ranchi to make a visit.

Hundru, Dassam and Jonha Waterfalls: Ranchi is sometimes called the City of Waterfalls, and of course not without a reason as this place has access to numerous waterfalls. Three of the most famous ones are the Hundru, Dassam and Jonha. These waterfalls are best visited right after the Monsoon season. Hundru is created on the course of the river Subarnarekha and people say that it is one of the most spectacular waterfalls. Dassam Falls has been created by a tributary of the Subarnarekha called Kanchi. Jonha Falls is also called by the name of Gautamdhara as there is a Buddhist shrine nearby. These there waterfalls are a visit must for tourists.

There are other numerous attractions of Ranchi – like the beautiful JSCA International Cricket Stadium – the home ground of MS Dhoni, a 150 plus km drive to the nearby hill station of Netarhat, Ranchi Rock Garden etc. It is definitely one of the most attractive cities of Eastern India.

BJP releases first list of 52 candidates for Jharkhand polls, CM Raghubar Das to contest from Jamshedpur.

Source – hindustantimes.com

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday announced its first list of 52 candidates for the assembly election in Jharkhand which is scheduled to be held later this month.

The list includes 17 Scheduled Tribe (ST), 21 Other Backward Class (OBC) and five women candidates, the BJP’s general secretary Arun Singh announced.

As many as 30 MLAs have got tickets, and 10 have been dropped from the list.

Chief minister Raghubar Das will contest from Jamshedpur east and state president Laxman Giluwa from Chakradharpur. Several turncoats such as Bhanu Pratap Shahi also have got BJP ticket.

Jharkhand has 81 assembly seats and the BJP is discussion an alliance with the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) of former minister Sudesh Mahto.

Mahto is asking for about 18 seats but the BJP is willing to offer just 10.

A formal announcement about the alliance is expected in a couple of days.

The state elections will be held in five phases beginning November 30 and the counting of votes will take place on December 23.

In the first phase on November 30, voting will be held on 13 assembly seats. Then, 20 constituencies will vote on December 7, 17 on December 12 and 15 constituencies on December 16.

In the fifth and the last round, voting will take place on 16 assembly seats on December 20 and the results will be declared three days later.

The term of the outgoing assembly expires on January 1, 2020.

Jharkhand BJP MLA from Barhi Joins Congress Ahead of Assembly Polls.

Source – news18.com

Ranchi/Hazaribag: Former BJP MLA from Jharkhand’s Barhi constituency, Uma Shankar Akela, on Sunday joined the Congress ahead of the Assembly polls in the state.

Akela joined the Congress in New Delhi in the presence of AICC in-charge RPN Singh and Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Rameshwar Oraon, Hazaribag district Congress leader Devraj Kushwaha said.

Kushwaha claimed that Akela joined the Congress after not being given a BJP ticket from Barhi Assembly seat in the upcoming elections in the state.

Akela had won the Barhi seat in the 2009 Assembly elections, but lost in the 2014 polls to Manoj Yadav of the Congress.

Yadav has recently joined the BJP and got a ticket from the seat. Akela is hoping to contest the elections from Barhi seat on a Congress ticket, party sources said.

Polling will be held in Barhi seat on December 12. The five-phase polling to 81 seats in the state Assembly will begin on November 30 and end on December 20. Counting of the votes will take place on December 23.

Meanwhile, NDA’s ally AJSU Party is scheduled to meet the BJP leadership on Sunday night to discuss seat-sharing, a party leader said. When asked about the number of seats AJSU Party will

demand from the BJP, party president Sudesh Mahto told PTI that the details will be disclosed following the meeting.

Mahto, a former deputy chief minister, said his party will announce its manifesto on November 14.

Earlier in the day, the BJP announced its first list of 52 candidates for the Assembly polls in the state.

‘The Greatest Folk Tales of Bihar’ by Nalin Verma.

Source – dailypioneer.com

The Panchatantra, probably world’s oldest collection of fables, had its origins in Bihar mainly as instructive stories for the princes of Patliputra during the Gupta period. The folk stories prevalent during my own childhood in Bihar in fact ran very close to the tales of Panchatantra or of Aesop’s Fables and nothing appealed more to children than the idea of animals and birds talking, be it sense or nonsense.

These stories, whether retold matter-of-factly or made spicy with wit and humour, were common to almost all Bihari villages, cutting across the State’s all five major linguistic divisions, namely Bhojpuri, Maithili, Magahi, Angika and Vajjika. It’s a pity however that the folk literature of Bihar is extremely scarce.

Aside from the 1968 Sahitya Akademi publication, ‘Folk Tales of Bihar’ by PC Roy Chaudhury, I haven’t come across any other related book worth mentioning. This book hence came my way as a pleasant surprise.

Nalin Verma, the author, is a veteran journalist and the co-author of the much-acclaimed Lalu Yadav’s autobiography, Gopalganj to Raisina: My Political Journey.

Born and brought up in a nondescript village in Siwan district of Bihar, the author had heard many stories from his mother, father, grandfather, as well as other villagers during his childhood. The book retells all these folk tales that young Nalin Verma had heard and grown up with.

The slim volume has been neatly divided into six parts. The first two comprise stories from the animal kingdom and are related to the clever jackal, the mischievous crow, the diligent sparrow, the timid goat, the wise parrot, and the magnanimous lioness. There’s a comical, and often nonsensical, streak to these tales yet they all have strong moral behind them.

In ‘Survival in the Wild’, there’s a funny story about ‘The Fear of Tiptipwa’, which highlights the importance of being always street-smart. Under ‘Folk Fun’, there are fun-filled tales about the gossiper and the simpleton. The story of the face-off between the crafty Kayastha (Munshiji) and the blunt Yadav (Raiji) had me in splits.

In ‘Gods, Demons and Faith’, the stories aim at preaching religiosity, triumph of virtue, and the role of karma in human life. The accepted moorings of society are well emphasised in these stories.

The story of the priest and the three thieves captivated me no end.

Most of the tales under ‘Pranks, Intrigues, Struggle and Entertainment’ section are based on local tradition and may sometimes appear bizarre, yet they have been clothed with some sort of reality.

A few stories, like The Malpua Tale, are firmly rooted to the place. The solitary fairy tale in the book is about the romantic love lore of Saranga and Sadabrij which, through an aura of phantasia, appeal to the inner dreamy sub-consciousness of mind.

The author seems to have learnt from Lalu Prasad Yadav about Bhikhari Thakur, the master folklorist of Bihar. Born into a poor barber family in a village in Saran district, Bhikhari Thakur dominated the folk scene and his songs and dramas highlighted Bihar’s rampant social disparity, caste divide and other social ills. Two of his most famous dramas find place in the book.

While it’s necessary to preserve the time-old folk tales of a particular region, it’s also imperative to sustain the flow of new folk stories. Ravindra Nath Tagore, Sukumar Ray and a few other writers have enriched Bengali children literature by writing folk tales.In the book’s Introduction, Nalin Verma also mentions a couple of new folk ballads popular in his native place.

One of them mocks Yahya Khan, Pakistan’s President and Martial Law Administrator during the 1971 Indo-Pak War (Ae Ahiya tu mahiya chaata !). The other song was rooted in Word War II (Arjun ke avtaar Hitler duniya ke hilaule baa, Roosh jitlas France ke jitlas England niyaraule baa !).

It’s about time that other scholars emulate passionate writers like Nalin Verma by taking suitable steps to preserve ancient folktales, songs and ballads of Bihar, as also to sustain the flow of neo-folk literature.The book has proved to be an enchanting read.

The common folk tales of North Bihar have been beautifully recounted by the author in some impeccable prose. The witty folktales of Gonu Jha from Mithila region are conspicuous by their absence, however.

Tales, which are intimately associated with specific places in North Bihar, like the heroic tale of Allaha and Rudal from Bawangarhi village of Champaran district, are also notable by their absence. The tribal folktales of Chotanagpur and Santhal Parganas region of erstwhile South Bihar are missing too, besides.

Won’t Pull Out Of Bihar Opposition Alliance, Says Jitan Ram Manjhi.

Source – ndtv.com

Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi today backtracked from his statement that his party Hindustani Awam Morcha would pull out of the five-party Grand Alliance in Bihar.

Mr Manjhi, however, said that a committee should be formed for taking decisions regarding the Grand Alliance and for better coordination among its partners.

“I never said my party will come out of the Grand Alliance. We will remain a part of it. But, I firmly spoke about the formation of a coordination committee for taking decisions of the alliance.”

Mr Manjhi had earlier said his party would go alone in the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections, where it has not contested any poll so far. He also announced that his party will field candidates in all the 243 Assembly segments of Bihar for elections next year.

“I had joined the Grand Alliance on the condition that there will be a coordination committee and every decision of alliance will be taken through the committee alone,” he told reporters on Sunday.

Asked whether he would suggest Tejashwi Yadav for constituting the coordination committee, Mr Manjhi said he had spoken to him and his father Lalu Prasad Yadav about it on several occasions.

“If the Grand Alliance leaders think that Jitan Ram Manjhi has no role to play in the alliance, then it is alright. I will remain in the alliance and continue politics,” he said.

Mr Manjhi asserted that if the alliance wants to defeat the NDA, then it has to be strengthened, for which a coordination committee is a must.

“We can fight Nitish Kumar and defeat the NDA only through the coordination committee. But, if any party leader shows reluctance in forming such committee, then I will consider him as a supporter of NDA,” he said.

Ravi Kisan’s Sanki Daroga promotional event gets banned in Nalanda

Source – zeenews.india.com

New Delhi: In a major disappointment for Ravi Kisan and his fans, the Nalanda district administration on Wednesday cancelled the film promotion of Bhojpuri star’s upcoming project ‘Sanki Daroga’in Bihar Sharif.

Though the police administration had given its permission to the event organisers earlier, the Nalanda District Magistrate cancelled the event at the last minute. The makers of Ravi Kisan starrer ‘Sanki Daroga’ had planned to hold a Kabaddi match in Bihar Sharif yesterday. After the administration order to cancel the event, the organisers and Bhojpuri cinema fans appeared quite miffed with the decision.

Ravi Kisan, who was in Bihar Sharif for the event, too appeared amused with the administration’s decision to revoke the permission to hold the Kabaddi match in the town.

A report said that Ravi later visited the district headquarters where he reportedly met with the District Magistrate and checked him the reason for cancelling the event. Later, he was quoted saying by the Bhojpurixp.com, “The attitude of Nalanda District Magistrate is not right. Our programs are peacefully organised everywhere. I am feeling bad that I could not meet my fans in Bihar Sharif. Next events are scheduled in Muzaffarpur, Motihari and Gopalganj.”

“My film ‘Sanki Daroga’ speaks about the subject of rapes in the country. And under this awareness campaign, Kabaddi matches are being organised by us across Bihar. But, the administration’s decision to cancel the event at last minute is beyong our understanding,” he said.

Know Your State Bihar – Facts, Boundaries, State Symbols, History, Geography, Major Dams, Festivals, Lakes, and Culture.

Source – versionweekly.com

A major part of General Awareness section is based on Indian states. Therefore it is important that you know the information about the states well. Know your State – Bihar will help you learn major facts, global importance, and culture of every state. This particular article will help you learn everything about Bihar in one glance.

Read the complete article to find out the history, economy, geographical significance, flora & fauna, important sites, tourist attractions, etc. about Bihar. You can also download this article as a PDF to keep it handy.

Basic Facts about Bihar

• Formation: 22 March 1912 (Bihar Diwas)
• Statehood: 26 January 1950
• Capital: Patna
• Number of District : 38
• Governor: Fagu Chauhan
• Chief Minister: Nitish Kumar (JD(U))
• High court: Patna High Court
• Chief Justice: Amreshwar Pratap Sahi
• Members of the Legislative Assembly: 243
• Lok Sabha Seats: 39
• Rajya Sabha Seats: 16

Bihar – Boundaries

The state is bordered by Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Bengal to the east, and with Jharkhand to the south.

Bihar State Symbols

• State Animal: Gaur
• State Bird: House Sparrow
• State Flower: Marigold
• State Tree: Peepal

History of Bihar

Regions of Bihar- such as Magadha, Mithila and Anga, are mentioned in religious texts and epics of ancient India.
In ancient and classical India, the area that is now Bihar was considered a centre of power, learning, and culture.
From Magadha arose India’s first empire, the Maurya empire, as well as one of the world’s most widely adhered-to religions: Buddhism.
On 15 November 2000, southern Bihar was ceded to form the new state of Jharkhand.

Geography of Bihar

It is the twelfth-largest Indian state. The third-largest state by population.
Bihar is a vast stretch of fertile plain.
It is drained by the Ganges River, including its northern tributaries Gandak and Kosi, originating in the Nepal Himalayas and the Bagmati originating in the Kathmandu Valley that regularly flood parts of the Bihar plains.
The Ganges divides Bihar into two unequal halves and flows through the middle from west to east.
The Legislative Assembly election was held over five-phases in Bihar in 2015.
The RJD emerged as a single largest party with 81 seats, followed by JD (U) with 70 seats and BJP with 53 seats.
Nitish Kumar is the current CM of Bihar.
Legislative Assembly elections will be held in Bihar in October 2020 to elect 243 members of the Bihar Legislative Assembly.

Major Dams in Bihar, India

Indrapuri Barrage: Indrapuri Barrage (also known as the Sone Barrage) is across the Son River in Rohtas district in the Indian state of Bihar.

Important Lakes in Bihar

Kanwar Lake: (Begusarai )
Dhua Kund : ( Sasaram)
Sita Kund: ( Sitamarhi)
Muchalinda Lake: (Bodhgaya)
Ghora Katora Lake: (Nalanda)

General Facts about Bihar

Only 11.3% of the population of Bihar lives in urban areas, which is the lowest in India after Himachal Pradesh.
Additionally, almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, giving Bihar the highest proportion of young people of any Indian state.
Three main regions converge in the state: Magadh, Mithila, and Bhojpur.
Literacy (2011): 82%
Sex ratio (2011): 918 $/1000 S
Hindu Goddess Sita, the consort of Lord Rama is believed to be born in Sitamarhi district in the Mithila region of modern-day Bihar.
Gautama Buddha attained Enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, a town located in the modern day district of Gaya in Bihar.
Vasupujya, the 12th Jain Tirthankara was born in Champapuri, Bhagalpur.
Vardhamana Mahavira, the 24th and the last Tirthankara of Jainism, was born in Vaishali around the 6th century BC.

Festivals & Fairs of Bihar

Chatth Puja: Almost all civilizations have worshipped the ‘sun god’, but it has a unique form in Bihar.
Sama-Chakeva: It is during the winter season that the birds from the Himalayas migrate towards the plains. With the advent of these colorful birds, celebration of sama – chakeva is done. This is a festival especially celebrated in mithila.
Bihula: Bihula is a prominent festival of eastern Bihar especially famous in Bhagalpur district.
Vaishali Fair: It is held in Chitra Trayodashi in Vaishali on the occasion of Mahavir’s birthday. Saurath Fair: Sourath is a village near Madhubani district of Bihar. Here, a fair is held which is also known as Marriage Market that is held in the Jayestha Asasadh month.
Malmas Fair: It is organised at Rajgir for taking bath in warm kund (Hot Springs).
Baba Brahmeshwarnath Fair: It is organised on Shivratri and Baishakh Krishna Paksh Ekadashi in twice a year at Buxar district, Bihar.

Dances of Bihar

Bidesia
Paika
Jhijhian
Kajari Dance

Important National Park and wildlife Sanctuaries in Bihar

Valmiki National Park
Barela Jheel Salim Ali Bird Wild Life Sanctuary
Kaimur Wild Life Sanctuary
Kusheshwar Asthan Bird Wild Life Sanctuary
Valmiki Wild Life Sanctuary
Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Wild Life Sanctuary

List of Monuments of National Importance in Bihar

Tomb of Sher Shah Suri: Rohtas
Vishnupad Temple, Gaya: Gaya
Tomb of Mahmud Shah: Bhagalpur
Brahmayoni Hill: Gaya
Beguhjam Masjid: Patna
Hazarimal Dharamshala: West Champaran

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya: 2002
Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara at Nalanda: 2016

Known as/for Bihar

– Birthplace of Buddhism and Jainism
– The capital state of Mauryan dynasty (Magadh)
– Indian state with the least literacy rate
– Bicameral legislature
– Almost 58% of the people in Bihar are below the age of 25, giving Bihar the highest proportion of young people of any Indian state
-The top litchi producing State in the country

Manjhi’s HAM breaks alliance, to go solo in Bihar, Jharkhand state polls.

Source – business-standard.com

Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) president Jitan Ram Manjhi on Friday announced that his party will be contesting on its own in 2020 Bihar Legislative Assembly elections.

Manjhi, who had served as Bihar chief minister from May 2014 to February 2015, announced to fight alone citing that its ally Congress and the RJD are not taking him into confidence while making any decisions.

“Congress and the RJD are not hearing our demands. We have told them to make the coordination committee during the Lok Sabha election so that decisions can be taken with the consent of all the parties. But both RJD and NCP are taking decisions independently and are imposing on us, which is why we thought it is better to leave the alliance,” he said while speaking to media in Patna.

Taking about the future coarse of action, Manjhi also informed that his party will fight Jharkhand polls independently.

Earlier, Manjhi had also rejected the possibility of joining the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), alleging that the BJP was involved in communal politics.

NCP and HAM contested the Lok Sabha elections in coalition with RJD, Congress and some other parties but could not win even a single seat in Bihar.

Ranchi water bodies to get monthly care.

Source – telegraphindia.com

The water bodies of Ranchi will be cleaned every month, the civic body has decided.

Taking lessons from the difficulties in cleaning water bodies during festivals, Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) has issued a directive for monthly cleaning instead of the existing norm of cleaning the more than 40 water bodies in the 53 wards only during Durga Puja and Chhath, once a year.

“We have issued directive to all the ward supervisors to ensure that cleaning of the water bodies undertaken prior to Chhath earlier this month is maintained,” said RMC commissioner Manoj Kumar. “The ward supervisor has to arrange for cleaning of water hyacinth and garbage on a regular basis every month and submit report. The councillor (elected representative) of the specific ward has also been requested to monitor that the cleaning is done satisfactorily and any issues should be raised promptly with the RMC’s health officials.”

The RMC had to face difficulties in cleaning water hyacinth and garbage from the major water bodies prior to Chhath this year due to rains and after a lot of efforts the lakes were cleared of garbage and the green growth.

As per the directive issued on Thursday, ward supervisors would take help of safai (cleanliness) workers in cleaning the water bodies every month and if the cleaning requires more effort they can repeat the cleaning every fortnight.

“The decision was taken after difficulties in pooling in huge number of workers and tractors to clean the water bodies of puja paraphernalia, garbage and water hyacinth from the water bodies with very few days left for the festivals and we had to literally work day and night. Now regular cleaning will make our task easier and we have to clean only puja paraphernalia after festivals,” an RMC official said.

Some of the major water bodies include Bada Talab, Tetartoli pond, Jail Talab, Chadhri pond, Button Talab, Hatania Talab, Kanke Lake etc.

The RMC is also planning to set up specific points near the lakes where puja paraphernalia would be thrown instead of being chucked in the lake.

“This will be known as visarjan kund near the water bodies. It would be specially barricaded points near the water bodies where devotees can drop puja paraphernalia before immersion of idols in the lake. We will be putting up notice boards informing people about these specific spots so that the entire water bodies are not polluted,” said RMC health officer Kiran Kumari.

The civic body also plans to hire a private agency for mechanised dredging and cleaning of water hyacinth from big water bodies.

“We will be hiring a private agency for clearing water hyacinth and dredging of the big water bodies as it is very difficult to remove water hyacinth from the water bodies manually. The selection process will take place after the assembly polls,” said RMC CEO Manoj Kumar.

Jitan Ram Manjhi Threatens To Pull Out Of Opposition Alliance In Bihar.

Source – ndtv.com

PATNA: Disarray in the opposition Grand Alliance in Bihar again emerged on Friday when former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s fresh threat of pulling out of the five-party formation was rubbished by other coalition partners as his pressure tactics.

They expressed the view that the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief was merely trying to play hardball and would ultimately fall in line.

Mr Manjhi had announced at the meeting of his party’s national executive meeting in Bihar capital Patna Thursday night it will go it alone in Jharkhand where it has never contested an election so far and field its candidates in all the 243 assembly segments in Bihar when Vidhan Sabha polls were held next year.

The mercurial leader, however, was yet to make up his mind as to which seats to contest in Jharkhand where elections have been announced and polling would commence by the end of this month.

His announcement of fighting all the Bihar seats was in line with his repeated threats issued in the aftermath of the drubbing received by the grand alliance in the Lok Sabha polls.

HAM had lost all the five Lok Sabha seats it had contested, including Gaya which Mr Manjhi himself lost to a relative newcomer Vijay Manjhi of the JD(U).

Speculation is rife that after having gravitated to the grand alliance last year, when he quit the NDA and ended up clinching a legislative council berth for his son from the quota of the RJD the wily leader may be eyeing a return to the formation headed by the BJP which seems on the upswing in the state as well as the country.

However, Mr Manjhi firmly denied any plans to return to the NDA when asked by reporters on Friday.

NDA sources say that Mr Manjhi’s entry is likely to meet with stiff opposition from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who heads the JD(U) and against whom the HAM president had revolted before floating his own outfit.

Besides, the LJP of Ram Vilas Paswan would also not like to share his political space with another Dalit leader.

Meanwhile, RJD national vice president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh dismissed Mr Manjhi’s latest outburst, saying “he is simply engaging in a bit of shadow boxing to enthuse his party’s rank and file.”

“He may be having some demands which are not being met. But that happens to all parties in a coalition. Once the process of campaign for Bihar assembly elections picks up, he is going to find no other abode except the grand alliance”.

The views were echoed by Congress Rajya Sabha member Akhilesh Prasad Singh, who hoped that his current foul mood notwithstanding, Mr Manjhi will be firmly with the grand alliance when the poll bugle is sounded in Bihar.

Interestingly, former Bollywood set designer Mukesh Sahni whose support Mr Manjhi has been counting on since the recent by-polls, ended up at a press conference addressed jointly by leaders of the grand alliance and Left parties as a show of solidarity among forces opposed to the BJP-led coalition, which rules the Centre as well as the state.

The press conference was organized by RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha on Friday and Mr Manjhi took care to ensure no leader of his party attended the same.

However, RLSP national secretary general Madhaw Anand told PTI “we are not able to understand the grouse of Manjhi, who is a senior and respected leader. He seems to be impatient about things like the grand alliance chief ministerial candidate and the respective share of seats for each constituent. We can only urge him not to cause more damage to the Mahagathbandhan by haste,” Mr Anand said.

Mr Anand was hinting at Mr Manjhi having fielded his candidate from Nathnagar assembly segment where by-polls were held last month and which the RJD lost by a margin less than the number of votes secured by the HAM candidate.

Taking a cue from Mr Manjhi, Mr Sahni had also fielded his party’s candidate from Simri Bakhtiyarpur though it did not come in the way of the RJD wresting the seat from JD(U) by a comfortable margin.

Mr Manjhi’s defiant stance during elections had followed repeated attacks on RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on whose inexperience he blamed the Lok Sabha debacle of grand alliance and threw his hat in the ring for being projected as the opposition coalitions cm candidate, much to the annoyance of Lalu Yadav’s party.