Patna, November 19: Hours after being unanimously chosen as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar, JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar submitted his resignation as Chief Minister on Wednesday, formally ending the tenure of the outgoing government. Governor Arif Mohammad Khan accepted the resignation and asked him to continue as caretaker Chief Minister until the new administration is sworn in, state BJP president Dilip Jaiswal said.
Kumar reached Raj Bhavan with senior NDA leaders, including Union minister Chirag Paswan, RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, to inform the Governor of the alliance’s decision. The JD(U) chief is preparing to present a consolidated letter of support from all alliance partners to stake claim to form the next government.
Earlier, the newly elected MLAs of the JD(U) legislature party had picked Kumar as their leader, reaffirming his position within the party and the alliance. At the NDA meeting that followed, JD(U) leader Vijay Choudhary proposed Kumar’s name as leader of the alliance, which was seconded by BJP’s Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha. MLAs from the LJP(RV), HAM and RLM also backed the proposal, minister Shrawon Kumar said.
The NDA returned to power with a commanding majority in the 243-member Bihar Assembly, securing 202 seats in total. The BJP won 89 seats, JD(U) 85, LJP(RV) 19, HAM five and RLM four.
Kumar will be sworn in for a record tenth term as Chief Minister on Thursday at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan, marking another transition in Bihar’s politics and setting the stage for the formation of his next government.
