Nitish Kumar handed in his resignation to Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlekar on Sunday. The JD(U) chief will now be forming a government with the support of NDA, leading to the appointment of two Deputy Chief Ministers from the BJP in the state: Samrat Chaudhary, the state BJP chief, and Vijay Sinha, the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar assembly.
Bihar MLAs unanimously approve appointments
This decision followed the unanimous approval by Bihar MLAs during the legislative party meeting to establish the NDA government in the state, comprising the BJP, JD(U), and other allied parties.
Samrat Chaudhary was chosen as the leader of the legislative party, while Vijay Sinha was elected as the deputy leader.
Before Kumar's resignation today, the BJP confirmed its intention to establish a government in the state with Kumar's JD(U) and other coalition partners.
Emotional moment, says Samrat Chaudhary
Samrat Chaudhary, reacting to his appointment, said, "BJP did a historic thing for my life. Having been elected as the leader of the Legislative Party and being a part of the government is an emotional moment for me."
"The mandate that we received in 2020 for the development of Bihar and to end the terror of Lalu Yadav - when the BJP received the proposal from Nitish Kumar to ensure that there is no Jungle Raj in Bihar, we decided to support it," he added.
Nitish quits Mahagathbandhan
Following days of intense speculation about Nitish rejoining the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), he effectively ended the rule of the 'Mahagathbandhan' in the state today.
During his meeting with Governor Rajendra Arlekar at the Raj Bhavan on Sunday, Nitish declared, "We have chosen to break ties with the 'Mahagathbandhan' in the state."
The rapid succession of political events in the state was set off by a social media post from Rohini Acharya, daughter of former Chief Minister and RJD chief Lalu Yadav. In her post, she criticized the JD(U), labeling it as a 'socialist party' that claims progressiveness but adapts its ideology according to changing winds.
