Jitan Ram Manjhi assumes charge as Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Jun 11, 2024
New Delhi [India], June 11 : Jitan Ram Manjhi on Tuesday assumed charge as Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
After assuming charge, he said, "I extend thanks to PM Narendra Modi. PM Modi told me that this is a ministry of his vision. The ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises will play a huge role in the upliftment of the poor section of society."
Manjhi, the founder of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), won the Gaya Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar in the 2024 election. He served as Bihar chief minister from May 2014 to February 2015.
Manjhi has been associated with various political parties, including the Congress, the erstwhile Janata Dal, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and the Janata Dal (United).
Manjhi was born in Khijrasarai, Gaya, and became Congress MLA in 1980. He became Bihar Chief Minister in 2014 when Nitish Kumar stepped down to strengthen the Janata Dal (United).
After falling out with Nitish Kumar, in the 2015 Assembly elections, Manjhi faced a setback as his party managed to secure just one seat. Before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections his party joined with the grand alliance with the RJD and Congress. But in that election, the alliance got a drubbing in the strong Modi wave.
Earlier he was minister for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Welfare in Nitish Kumar's Cabinet. Between 1996 and 2005, he served in the RJD government under Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi.
