JDU chief Nitish Kumar resigned as the Chief Minister of Bihar on Sunday morning. This development comes shortly after he visited the Governor House in Patna. He reportedly handed over his resignation to state governor Rajendra Arlekar. Calling on the Governor at Raj Bhavan, Nitish told him, "We have decided to sever ties with the Mahagathbandhan in the state".
This move makes way for the 72-year-old JDU leader to take oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar state, once again for the ninth time, but with BJP's support this time. BJP leaders are set to visit the residence of Nitish Kumar later today. He is set to take oath again in the evening at 5pm today, said reports.
Nitish will be sworn in as CM for the ninth time at Rajendra Manapam in Raj Bhawan. There will be two deputy chief ministers from the BJP quota. Earlier in the day, Nitish, also the JD (U) president, held a meeting with his party MPs and party legislators. He said that he was facing difficulties in running the government with RJD.
Nitish Kumar's resignation officially ends the Mahagathbandhan governement's reign in the state and marks the return of NDA government in Bihar. This is the fourth time that Nitish Kumar resorted to switching sides in power.
Shortly after submitting his resignation to the Governor of state, outgoing Bihar CM and JDU president Nitish Kumar interacted with the media. Shedding light on the cause that led to his move, Nitish said, "...this situation came because everything was not going well...I was taking opinion from everyone. I listened to all of them. Today I have resigned and ended the government..." He particularly mentioned that the his alliance with the INDIA Bloc didn't work well leading to his resignation.
BJP Maintains Cool Amid Drastic Power Shifts In State
Earlier on Saturday, the Bihar BJP chief Samrat Choudhary set it aside, stating that the party's high command has 'no clue' about it. "Neither has Nitish Kumarji resigned nor has anybody withdrawn support. Only if something happens, then we will have any information. At present, the BJP wants to assess the situation of Bihar and then, we will make a decision accordingly," Chaudhary said while speaking to reporters in Bihar's Patna.
RJD leaders on the other hand convened an emergency meeting on Saturday at Lalu Prasad's residence in Patna, indicating Tejashwi Yadav's suggestion of unexpected developments in the state. Tejashwi stressed the achievements under Nitish Kumar's leadership and hinted at more to come, saying, "Bihar mein abhi khel hona baki hain" (The game is yet to begin in Bihar).
During the meeting, RJD leader Manoj Jha stated that Lalu Prasad Yadav has been authorised to make decisions. He described the positive discussion that covered various national and state-level issues, emphasizing the collective authorisation given to Lalu Yadav to guide the party's decisions.
