Jitan Ram Manjhi

Jitan Ram Manjhi
Manjhi in June 2024
Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Assumed office
10 June 2024
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
PresidentDraupadi Murmu
Preceded byNarayan Rane
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Assumed office
4 June 2024
Preceded byVijay Manjhi
ConstituencyGaya, Bihar
Speaker of Bihar Legislative Assembly
In office
19 November 2020 – 24 November 2020
23rd Chief Minister of Bihar
In office
20 May 2014[1] – 20 February 2015[2]
Preceded byNitish Kumar
Succeeded byNitish Kumar
Personal details
Born (1944-10-06) 6 October 1944 (age 80)
Mahakar, Gaya, Bihar, British India
Political partyHindustani Awam Morcha (2015—present)
Other political
affiliations
Janata Dal (United) (2005—2015)
Rashtriya Janata Dal (1996—2004)
Janata Dal (1990—1996)
Indian National Congress (1980—1990)
Spouse
Shanti Devi
(m. 1956)
Children7, including Santosh Kumar Suman
Residence(s)New Delhi, Delhi, India
Alma materGaya College
ProfessionPolitics

Jitan Ram Manjhi (born 6 October 1944) is an Indian politician, serving as the Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises since 2024.[3] He is currently a Member of Parliament from Gaya constituency and was Bihar's 23rd Chief Minister from 20 May 2014 to 20 February 2015. He was the founding President of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM).[4] Previously, he had served as minister for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes welfare in Nitish Kumar's cabinet. He has been a minister in several Bihar state governments, under multiple chief ministers like Chandrashekhar Singh, Bindeshwari Dubey, Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Jagannath Mishra, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi.

Manjhi has been a member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly since 1980. He was affiliated with several political parties, Indian National Congress (1980–1990), Janata Dal (1990–1996), Rashtriya Janata Dal (1996–2005) and JD(U) (2005–2015).[5] He was expelled from JD(U) following the February 2015 political crisis and subsequently Jitan Ram Manjhi emerged as a major Dalit face in Bihar.[6] In May 2015, he announced the new political party, Hindustani Awam Morcha. In July 2015, Jitan Ram Manjhi was accorded "Z"-plus security cover by the Union Home Ministry.[7][8][9]

Currently, he is the oldest minister in the third term of NDA government after the winning of 2024 Lok Sabha election.[10]

  1. ^ Ghosh, Deepshikha (20 May 2014). "I'm No Rubber Stamp,' Says Nitish Kumar's Successor Jitan Ram Manjhi". Patna: NDTV. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  2. ^ "Manjhi resigns as Bihar CM ahead of trust vote, says his supporters got death threats". The Times of India. 20 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  3. ^ "PM Modi Gaya rally: Much at stake for Manjhi". The Times of India.
  4. ^ "संतोष सुमन होंगे हम पार्टी के नये अध्यक्ष, जीतन राम मांझी ने बेटे को सौंपी अपनी राजनीतिक विरासत". Prabhat Khabar (in Hindi). Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Jitan Ram Manjhi resigns as Bihar chief minister". Yahoo! News. Patna. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  6. ^ "'Ram Vilas Dalit face wherever you go, Jitan Ram Manjhi can be Mahadalit face'". 29 July 2015.
  7. ^ "BJP government gives Jitan Ram Manjhi Z-plus VIP security cover".
  8. ^ "Now, Pappu Yadav gets 'Y' category security". 29 July 2015.
  9. ^ Bureau, National (21 July 2015). "Manjhi gets Z-plus security". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 16 February 2021. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  10. ^ Mishra, Anand (25 June 2024). "Profile | Jitan Ram Manjhi: An Inspiring Journey From The Margins To Becoming Modi Cabinet's Oldest Minister". frontline.thehindu.com. Retrieved 1 July 2024.