Bihar Political Crisis, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Resignation Today Highlights: Janata Dal (United) president Nitish Kumar on Sunday took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the ninth time. He was administered the oath of office by Governor Rajendra Arlekar at the Raj Bhavan in Patna. BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha took oath as deputy Chief Ministers in the Nitish Kumar-led government. Earlier, in the day, Nitish resigned as the Bihar Chief Minister and snapped ties with the Mahagathbandhan government that he led since his exit from the NDA in August 2022. Nitish said that he met Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlekar and tendered his resignation as the Chief Minister of Bihar. Later, he staked claim to form the government with the support of the BJP.
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The development marks yet another coup by Nitish, this time against the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress, paving the way for JD(U)’s return to the National Democratic Alliance less than 18 months after snapping ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
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Bihar News Highlights: Nitish Kumar resigns as CM. Catch all Bihar Political developments and latest updates here.
All Members of Parliament and MLAs of the BJP from Bihar will meet at the party’s Pana office at 10 AM on Sunday. The huddle is likely to precede Nitish Kumar’s meeting with the Governor where he may offer to resign and form a new government with the BJP’s support. The Bihar BJP core group also met in Patna on Saturday. However, leaders said that the issue of Nitish Kumar or the latest political developments in the state did not come up for discussion. “We are preparing for the Lok Sabha elections and discussions were held around it,” a leader present at the meeting told Financial Express Online.
Amid indications that the JD(U) of CM Nitish Kumar was set to snap ties with the Mahagathbandhan government, the RJD on Saturday authorised Lalu Prasad Yadav to take all decisions as he saw fit. While there are indications that the RJD may not withdraw support to the government — that would compel the Governor to invite RJD to form a government since it is the single-largest party in the state — the possibility of Lalu engineering last-minute defections from the JD(U) cannot be ruled out either.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, sources said, was likely to get two deputy chief ministers and the Speaker from within its party, if it allies with the JD(U) to form a new government in the state.
On Saturday, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav told party leaders that his party should do nothing to even remotely suggest that it was behind Nitish Kumar’s decision to snap ties. “Khela abhi baaki hai,” he said, but advised MLAs and ministers to venture out into their constituencies and inform people of the RJD’s policies and promises.
CM Nitish Kumar has sought time for a meeting with the Bihar Governor in the first half of today. It isn’t clear if he will offer his resignation or sack RJD ministers from his Cabinet.
A JD(U) source told PTI Saturday that Nitish Kumar would resign as CM on Sunday. However, he may also choose to sack RJD ministers and replace them with BJP members and provide the letter of BJP’s support to the Governor when he meets him, sources said. The legality of the latter, however, may be questioned.
JD(U) legislators are likely to meet at CM Nitish Kumar’s residence amid indications that the party may realign with the NDA ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may pull the plug on the Mahagathbandhan government in Patna today. He has sought time to meet the Governor where he may offer his resignation or sack RJD ministers and replace them with BJP leaders.
Bihar Assembly seats tally
The Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar, minus the JD(U), has 114 seats in the 243-member Assembly. The RJD has 79 seats, Congress has 19, CPI (M-L) has 12, while CPI and CPI(M) have 2 seats each. In the NDA, the BJP has 78 seats, the Hindustani Awam Morcha on 4 seats. With 45 MLAs, the JD(U)’s entry into the BJP would take the NDA’s strength to 127, 5 seats above the majority mark of 122 in the 243-member Assembly. The JD(U) also has the support of one Independent MLA.
The Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) government in Bihar was formed following Nitish’s exit from the NDA in August 2022. As per the formula being worked out between the JD(U) and the BJP, Nitish retains the CM’s chair while the BJP keeps two deputy chief ministers as well as the Speaker’s post for itself.