Jitan Ram Manjhi
Jitan Ram Manjhi | |
|---|---|
Manjhi in June 2024 | |
| Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises | |
| Assumed office 10 June 2024 | |
| President | Droupadi Murmu |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Narayan Rane |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| Assumed office 4 June 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Vijay Manjhi |
| Constituency | Gaya, Bihar |
| Pro-tem Speaker of Bihar Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 19 November 2020 – 24 November 2020 | |
| 23rd Chief Minister of Bihar | |
| In office 20 May 2014 – 22 February 2015 | |
| Governor | Keshari Nath Tripathi |
| Preceded by | Nitish Kumar |
| Succeeded by | Nitish Kumar |
| President of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) | |
| In office 25 July 2015 – 26 April 2022 | |
| Preceded by | office established |
| Succeeded by | Santosh Kumar Suman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 October 1944 |
| Party | HAM(S) (2015—present) |
| Other political affiliations | JD(U) (2005—2015) RJD (1996—2004) JD (1990—1996) INC (1980—1990) |
| Spouse |
Shanti Devi (m. 1956) |
| Children | 7, including Santosh Kumar Suman |
| Alma mater | Gaya College |
| Profession | Politician |
Jitan Ram Manjhi (born 6 October 1944) is an Indian politician who is serving as the 15th Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises since 2024. 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). 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). 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. 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.
Currently, he is the oldest minister in the third term of NDA government after the winning of 2024 Lok Sabha election.