Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is likely to resign from his post by noon on Sunday, JD(U) sources told news agency PTI, amid strong indications of the veteran Bihar Chief Minister returning to the National Democratic Alliance fold after 17 months. A new government under Nitish’s leadership with support from the Bharatiya Janata Party could also take shape “in a day or two”, sources told Financial Express Online.
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BJP legislators, MPs, functionaries and office bearers in Bihar are scheduled to meet on Sunday at 10 am where they will wait for Nitish to first tender his resignation before they call a legislative party meeting to decide on offering support to the JD(U) government. The JD(U) has also called an important meeting of its legislature party in the state on Sunday morning.
At an informal gathering of party MLAs in Patna on Saturday, JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar lashed out at the Rashtriya Janata Dal. “RJD leadership is restless, the reason for the restlessness is clear. Those who were involved in land for job are restless as they could not have any say in appointment and posting of over 2.5 lakh teachers,” said Kumar.
Hectic parleys were seen across parties on Saturday in the run-up to another possible volte-face by Nitish Kumar. BJP, JD(U), RJD and HAM held separate meetings while LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan flew to Delhi and met Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Contrary to suggestions that the RJD could engineer a split in the JD(U) to stake claim to form a government, party leader and Bihar’s Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav told party leaders to travel to their constituencies and inform voters about the party’s policies and decisions. The leader is also learnt to have advised his partymen to delink the party from Nitish’s possible decision to desert the Mahagathbandhan.
Meanwhile, the HAM and the LJP, both constituents of the NDA, have vowed to continue their support to the NDA and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership in the event of Nitish joining the NDA in Bihar. The remarks assume significance in view of Paswan’s long-standing reservations about Nitish and reports that suggested that the Congress and the RJD reached out to HAM’s Jitan Ram Manjhi, even offering him chief ministership.
In the 243-member Bihar Assembly, the RJD is the single largest party with 79 MLAs, followed by the BJP at 78. The JD(U) has 45 seats, Congress has 19, CPI(M-L) has 12, HAM has 4 while CPI and CPI(M) have 2 MLAs each.
Nitish, who is directly dealing with PM Modi and Shah regarding a tie-up in Bihar, is likely to continue as Chief Minister for now. As per sources, the formula worked out between the top leaders will see two deputy CMs from the BJP with the likelihood of Sushil Modi’s return to the post along with Renu Devi. There are, however, indications that the BJP may move Nitish to the Centre after an unspecified period.