Manjhi
Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi during the Janta Darbar in Patna on 5 January, 2015.IANS File

With the deadlock in Bihar still far from being resolved, chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi was on Wednesday asked by the state's Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi to prove his majority on the floor of the House on 20 February.

According to highly-placed sources in Raj Bhavan, Manjhi will have to prove majority in the legislative assembly "immediately after the governor's address of the joint session of Bihar legislature on the opening day of Budget session".

The sources added that there was not much information available about Manjhi's request for a secret ballot being accepted by the governor, reports PTI.

Earlier in the day, former Bihar Chief Minister and senior JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar along with party president Sharad Yadav, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav met President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday to discuss the unstable situation in the state.

After his meeting with the president, Nitish addressed the media and said: "Formation of government in the state should not be delayed further. We want to be fair to everybody, so give the current government a chance to prove majority. If they can prove it in the House let them form a government. We told Mr President that we enjoy a majority in Bihar. The process should be fast- tracked. Deliberate delay is causing loss and government isn't able to work," reports Firstpost.