Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar Chief Minister for record ninth time
Patna (Bihar): Janata Dal-United chief Nitish Kumar took oath as Bihar Chief Minister for the ninth time at Raj Bhavan on Sunday after snapping ties with "Mahagathbandhan".
Alongside Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha took the oath as Deputy Chief Ministers Upon arrival of BJP chief JP Nadda, the people were heard chanting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's name and slogans.
After days of speculation, JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar resigned as the Chief Minister of Bihar on Sunday, his second volte face in less than 18 months. Snapping ties with the RJD and Congress, Nitish will now be forming a government with BJP's support, the oath-taking of which is going to take place shortly.
Nitish Kumar cited the state of affairs being "not right" under the Mahagathbandhan alliance as his reason for quitting. He said that he has been receiving suggestions from everywhere, including his party workers, and he listened to all of them to come to this decision.
"I have resigned as the CM today and have asked the Governor to put an end to this government. Party leaders were giving me advice. I heard what they said and have resigned. The situation was not good. So, we have broken ties," Nitish Kumar told reporters outside the Raj Bhavan.
Despite turbulence in state politics, Nitish, whether with the Mahagathbandhan or the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), has managed to retain the CM's chair and ensured that his party has not split over his repeated flip-flops.
In the Bihar Assembly of 243, the RJD has 79 MLAs; followed by the BJP's 78; the JD(U)'s 45' the Congress's 19, the CPI (M-L)'s 12, two each of the CPI(M) and CPI, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular)'s four seats, and the AIMIM's one, plus one Independent legislator.
Nitish Kumar, after parting ways with the BJP in 2022, took on the initiative of uniting all opposition forces to jointly take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling party in the national election.
In 2000, Nitish became CM for the first time after campaigning against RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav's 'Jungle Raaj'. Till now, he has been Bihar's CM on eight occasions.
In 2013, Nitish broke ranks with the NDA after a 17-year alliance following the announcement of Narendra Modi as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate. He expressed his displeasure to the BJP over Modi's selection as the PM face, and after the BJP decided to not change its decision, Kumar left the alliance.
In 2017, Nitish forged a grand alliance with the RJD and Congress and returned as chief minister in 2015. He walked out of the grand alliance in 2017, accusing the RJD of corruption and choking governance in the state. In 2022, Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the BJP once again, alleging the BJP was conspiring against him and trying to influence JD-U MLAs to rebel against him.
(ANI)
