Mountain Man Dashrath Manjhi is Pappu Yadav 's idol in poll-bound Bihar

Bihar's famous Mountain Man Dashrath Manjhi may have struggled to make both ends meet in his lifetime despite his awe-inspiring feat but political parties have no qualms in cashing in on the renewed interest in him ahead of the Assembly polls in Bihar.

The latest to demand due recognition to the mahadalit icon, who single-handedly carved a road through a hillock over a period of 22 years in the Gaya district of Bihar, is ousted Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Pappu Yadav, who has formed the Jan Adhikar Party to contest the upcoming polls in the state.

Pappu spent Rs 4 lakh to get a four-foot high statue of Dashrath made in Rajasthan before being installed in the Manjhi's ancestral Gehlaur village with much fanfare earlier this week. "Dashrath Manjhi's love story is bigger than that of Heer-Ranjha," Pappu said while addressing a gathering of villagers. "Nowhere does one find a love story as moving as that of Dashrath, a man from the lowest stratum of society who cut the mountains to build a road for the love of his life."

"A Bollywood film made on his life has made waves everywhere but unfortunately, the government could not help him get rid of his poverty in his lifetime and continues to use him merely as a symbol," Pappu said.

The five-time MP said that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had once asked Dashrath to sit on his chair in a symbolic gesture to appreciate his efforts but he did not offer help to his poor family. "Poverty cannot be eradicated by asking somebody to sit on the chief minister's chair," he said. "The fact of the matter is that 80 per cent of the people are still living in impoverished conditions despite Nitish's tall claims of development."