Nitish Kumar likely to resign today, JD(U)-BJP to stake claim for new Bihar government

Amid the Bihar political crisis, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is likely to resign from his post by noon today, with many Congress MLAs going with him, sources informed India Today TV.

The Janata Dal (United) veteran is expected to address a legislative meeting around 10 am, after which he will submit his resignation at the Raj Bhavan to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and stake claim to form a new government with the BJP’s support.

The BJP’s strategy, meanwhile, is to wait for Nitish Kumar to resign first. The Bihar BJP legislators will also have a meeting today at 10 am to discuss their strategy, then a JD(U)-BJP legislative meeting will take place.

Bihar Mahagathbandhan ally RJD had a huddle on Saturday, in which party leaders authorised supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav “to take any decision regarding the developments that may take place”. This was announced by RJD national spokesperson Manoj Jha.

The RJD is trying to cobble up numbers and create a perception that the party is not bowing out without a fight. They are also trying to prepare a strategy if they cannot stop Nitish Kumar from taking oath as the Chief Minister for a record ninth time. The RJD is planning to raise the issue in the ssembly when a trust motion happens during the February 5 budget session.

The BJP leaders went into a huddle on Saturday that went on till late in the evening, with Bihar in-charge Vinod Tawde in attendance. The meeting fell short of announcing support for Nitish Kumar, but news agency PTI reported that the jubilant mood at the Patna office gave ample hints that the party is looking to make a comeback.

Earlier, BJP sources told India Today that the party had put forth some conditions before Nitish Kumar before announcing support. The BJP will demand two Deputy Chief Ministers and the Bihar Assembly Speaker’s position. The letter of support will be extended after assessing a few more factors, including the transfers done across bureaucracy on Friday evening.

JD(U)’s political adviser and spokesperson KC Tyagi said on Saturday that the Mahagathbandhan alliance government in Bihar, comprising RJD, Congress and three Left parties as other members, is on the “verge of collapse”. “The alliance of INDIA bloc parties is almost over in Punjab, West Bengal and Bihar,” he told reporters.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday appointed former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel as the party’s senior observer to coordinate the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ and other party activities in Bihar with immediate effect. This came amid the political turmoil in the state amid fears Nitish Kumar may dump the Mahagathbandhan alliance.

BJP MP Janardan Singh Sigriwal told reporters after the party’s huddle on Saturday that it was the NDA that had received the “mandate to govern Bihar in 2020 assembly polls”, and now the alliance will be “back in power”.

A BJP leader, who attended the party’s meeting in Patna on Saturday, told news agency PTI that all attendees were asked to sign on a “piece of paper” as a formality that may be required when the saffron party seeks to inform Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar that it was ready to form a new government.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Saturday that he had written a letter to Nitish Kumar and tried to talk to him as well. Congress later said that the party chief called the Bihar Chief Minister two to three times, and despite returning the calls, Nitish Kumar remained “busy” and the two leaders could not speak about the political crisis.

The RJD, with 79 MLAs, is the single largest party in the Bihar assembly and part of the ruling Mahagathbandhan as well. The ruling alliance falls eight members short of the majority in the assembly in the event of JD(U)’s departure.