In a series of dramatic political developments in Bihar, on Tuesday, Chief Minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar has announced his departure from NDA and resigned as Chief Minister. Within hours, he had claimed to form a new government with the support of RJD, Congress, Left parties and few others.
He is forming the new government with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, as Deputy Chief Minister. The 71-year-old leader will be taking oath as the CM for the eighth time. Nitish met Governor Phagu Chauhan twice in the evening—first to hand over his resignation and later to stake claim to form the new government after being elected the leader of the Grand Alliance.
He was accompanied by Tejashwi to the Raj Bhavan. Both the leaders also met senior RJD leader Rabri Devi at her residence in Patna. He also dialed Congress president Sonia Gandhi and senior party leader Rahul Gandhi. According to reports, The Congress is likely to get four ministerial berths in the new government.
Nitish said he submitted a list of 164 MLAs to the governor. The effective strength of the state Assembly is 242 and the magic figure is 122. The Congress has 19 MLAs in the 243-member Bihar Assembly while the JD(U) has 45, RJD 79, CPI(ML) 12, and CPI and CPI(M) each have two legislators. The BJP has 77 MLAs in Bihar while the Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) has 4. The House has one Independent MLA while one seat is vacant.
Stung by Nitish’s decision to leave the NDA, the BJP accused him of betraying the people of Bihar. “We fought the 2020 polls together under NDA. The mandate was for the JD(U)-BJP alliance. We (BJP) won more seats, but Nitish Kumar was made the CM. Whatever happened today is a betrayal of Bihar’s people and the BJP,” party state chief Sanjay Jaiswal said.
BJP leader and Union minister Ashwini Choubey on Tuesday accused Nitish f being “opportunistic” and said those “betraying” Bihar want to create obstacles in its development.
“The BJP does not suppress anyone, does not betray anyone. Those people betraying Bihar want to create obstacles in its development. The development of Bihar has been a priority for us from Atal Bihari Vajpayee government to the Modi government,” Choubey told a TV channel.
