Nitish Kumar resigns as Chief Minister of Bihar to join hands with BJP

1. After days of uncertainty, Nitish Kumar and his Janata Dal (United) today abandoned the faltering opposition alliance and is expected to join hands with the BJP.

2. The 72-year-old met Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlikar today and resigned from the post of Chief Minister.

3. This is his eighth resignation in his political career, which saw him rise as a model of good governance before his repeated leaps across the political aisle hit his popularity and the electoral weight of his JDU party.

4. Instead of Nitish Kumar stepping down, the BJP has also proposed a reshuffle in Bihar by replacing RJD ministers with its MLAs, sources told NDTV.

5. Sources said that all BJP MLAs in Bihar have already submitted letters of support to Nitish Kumar. The BJP and JD(U) have also finalized a seat-sharing agreement for the Lok Sabha elections scheduled in three months.

6. This announcement led to a dispute between the Republican Party and the Congress, as the two parties held several meetings to discuss the action plan after Mr. Kumar's exit. The JD(U) was among the major parties in the opposition India Bloc aiming to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha elections.

7. In the 243-seat Bihar Assembly, the RJD has 79 MLAs; followed by BJP 78; JD(U)'s 45' Congress 19, CPI(ML)'s 12, two each from CPI(M) and CPI, four Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) seats, and one AIMIM seat, plus an independent legislator.

8. RJD leaders met yesterday at the residence of former national vice president and chief minister Rabri Devi, who shares her government home with her son, Tejashwi Yadav, and her husband, Lalu Prasad, the party president.

9. According to sources, Tejashwi Yadav told party leaders that the game has not yet begun in Bihar.

10. “Whatever could not be done in two decades, we have been able to get done in a short time – be it jobs, caste census, increasing reservation, etc.” “Bihar mein abhi khel hona baki hain” (The game did not start yet in Bihar),” Mr. Yadav reportedly said.

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