Jitan Ram Manjhi has been elected the leader of its four-member legislature party.
Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi was on Thursday elected the leader of its four-member legislature party.
He said he will not become a minister in the new government headed by Nitish Kumar after having been the chief minister.
All the four newly elected MLAs met at Mr Manjhi's home where they elected the former chief minister the leader of the legislature group.
They were felicitated by party leaders and workers present there following the party's best-ever performance in the Bihar assembly election. Mr Manjhi was the lone MLA from his Hindustani Awam Morcha in the outgoing assembly.
Later, talking to reporters, Mr Manjhi advised the newly elected MLAs of the Congress to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for progress of the state.
"Nitish Kumar's development plans are not much different from those of the Congress. Moreover, he has kept away from many issues that are not in the interest of the state. So, you can join us in the NDA and contribute to the development of the state," Mr Manjhi said.
Mr Manjhi had started his political career with the Congress in 1980. He later shifted to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and then to the Janata Dal United (JDU). He quit the JDU after he was forced to step down to pave way for the return of Nitish Kumar as Chief Minister and later formed the Hindustani Awam Morcha.
Mr Kumar had stepped down as chief minister in 2014 after taking moral responsibility for the JDU's poor performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, when only two of its candidates won, and installed Mr Manjhi as the chief minister. When Mr Kumar wanted the chair back, a defiant Mr Manjhi initially refused but gave in to pressure.
Mr Kumar facilitated his return to the NDA just before the assembly election to counterbalance another Dalit leader, Chirag Paswan, who walked out of the ruling alliance in Bihar and went to the hustings alone.
Mr Manjhi's party was given seven seats to contest from the JD(U)'s quota of 122, and the party did well winning four.