The National Democratic Alliance government in Bihar led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar won the vote of confidence in the assembly on Monday. The government secured 129 votes as the opposition—the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress and Left parties—staged a walkout.
In his speech in the Assembly, Nitish launched a blistering attack on RJD, his former ally, saying several communal riots had taken place in Bihar during Lalu Prasad Yadav’s rule.
The chief minister also said he would initiate an investigation into the corruption allegations against RJD. During the trust vote, three RJD MLAs—Prahlad Yadav, Neelam Devi and Chetan Anand—switched over to the NDA bloc.
Earlier the day, a resolution was passed for the removal of RJD’s Awadh Bihari Chaudhary as the Speaker of the assembly.
In the 243 member House, BJP has 78 seats, Nitish’s Janata Dal (United) 45 and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustan Awam Morcha four. An Independent MLA also supported the government. The opposition RJD and Congress hold 114 seats together.
Kumar took oath as the chief minister of Bihar for a record 9th time on January 28, hours after he resigned from the post following his exit from the Mahagathbandhan and formed a fresh government with the support of the BJP.
The 72-year-old leader resigned as the chief minister, saying “things were not working well” for him in the Mahagathbandhan and the INDIA alliance, and staked claim to form a new government.
The political developments in Patna had come as a crushing irony for the INDIA bloc, formed to take on the BJP at the national level, as it was Nitish who had initiated the process of consulting with the opposition parties to form a grand alliance.
