Nitish Kumar has resigned as Chief Minister, ending his party's two-year alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) of Lalu Yadav. He is all set to return to the NDA fold. Nitish will form the next government with the BJP, the second-largest party in Bihar. The JDU had contested the last assembly elections in 2020 with the BJP. After the elections, the RJD emerged as the largest party, with 75 seats. The BJP bagged 74 while JDU won 43 seats in the 243-member Bihar Assembly.
Also read: Nitish Kumar resigns as Bihar CM in big setback for INDIA bloc, to form govt with BJP
After retaining the state for yet another term, the JDU and BJP formed the government, but later Nitish in 2022 ditched the NDA and formed a grand alliance with RJD. Now, once again, Nitish is set to return to NDA.
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Here's how numbers stack up in assembly
As of today, the BJP has 78 MLAs, while JDU has 45 and Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM has 4 legislators - they together have 127, five more than the required number to form the government.
In the opposition camp, the RJD has 79 MLAs, Congress 19, and three Left parties have 16. One independent candidate is also backing the opposition, taking the total number to 116. The AIMIM, which has one MLA, is neither supporting the government nor the opposition.
Now, Nitish Kumar is set to take oath as NDA chief minister at 5 pm. He tendered his resignation as the Chief Minister to Governor Rajendra Arlekar. The Governor accepted the resignation and deputed him as the acting chief minister.
"Today, I have resigned as the Chief Minister and I have also told the Governor to dissolve the government in the state. This situation came because not everything was alright. I was getting views from everyone. I listened to all of them. Today, the Government has been dissolved."