Bihar's former Chief Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi on Friday said he repaid a favour to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar by extending him his support to form a government with the NDA in Bihar.
Speaking at an event, Jitan Ram Manjhi recalled the Chief Minister secured a total of 125 votes in the Bihar Assembly. He asserted he contributed to four votes for Kumar.
"In the Bihar Assembly, 122 votes were needed to form the government, and Nitish Kumar secured 125 votes. Our contribution was four votes. If those 4 votes were removed, it would have been 121 votes," Manjhi said.
"If we hadn't, Nitish Ji's government would have fallen."
"He made me the Chief Minister, so now, I can say that I have also repaid my favour," the former Chief Minister said.
Manjhi further said Nitish Kumar "made the right decision by joining the NDA."
He also appealed to the people of Bihar to vote for his government and said he would work towards implementing a complete ban on liquor in the state.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, former Chief Minister and RJD leader Rabri Devi took a dig at Nitish Kumar, saying he had joined the RJD alliance on his own the last time and this time he had left on his own accord without any pressure.
Nitish Kumar took oath as Bihar Chief Minister for the ninth time after snapping ties with "Mahagathbandhan".
This came after a dramatic volte-face, as Kumar decided to form a new government with the BJP.
