HAM(S) Chief Jitan Ram Manjhi takes oath as minister at the swearing-in ceremony of new Union government, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
A veteran Dalit face of the NDA, Jitan Ram Manjhi, 79, has won the Lok Sabha election for the first time in his life. But he has the rare distinction of serving as a minister in Bihar under seven CMs in the last four decades, besides being the Chief Minister himself for nine months from May 2014 to February 2015.
Much like his mentor Nitish Kumar, Manjhi, too, has a record of switching sides. Little wonder, he won as a legislator on the tickets of Congress, Janata Dal, RJD and the JD (U) and now as an MP of (Hindustan Awam Morcha), his pocket organisation.