Bihar government formation: NDA meet underway to declare Nitish Kumar as leader

Patna: The leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will on Sunday participate in a joint meeting, where Nitish Kumar is expected to be declared as the alliance’s leader in Bihar. Other decisions like allotting cabinet berths may also be finalised during the meeting. The meeting will be held at 12:30 pm and will be attended by a host of NDA leaders. Some of the leaders — Rajnath Singh, BJP Bihar in-charge Bhupendra Yadav and Devendra Fadnavis — are yet to arrive for the crucial meeting.

Earlier on Friday, the four NDA partners in Bihar — BJP, JD(U), HAM and VIP — met at Nitish Kumar’s residence for an informal meeting to discuss the future course of action regarding government formation in Bihar. At the meeting, Nitish Kumar had confided that the NDA’s legislature party’s meeting would be held on Sunday at 12:30 pm. Besides selecting Kumar as the leader, a host of other decisions will be taken regarding the government formation in Bihar. “The meeting will start at 12:30 pm on Sunday, November 15 where all further decisions will be taken," said chief minister-elect Nitish Kumar, who also heads the JD(U).

"These formalities have to be completed before the formation of a new government. The cabinet`s recommendations will be forwarded to the governor whose approval will be followed by other steps leading to the formation of a new government," Kumar added. Despite BJP emerging as the largest party in the ruling alliance in Bihar with 74 seats, the top leadership including Prime Minister Narendra Modi has endorsed Nitish Kumar as the next chief minister of the state. It may be noted that the JD(U) has lost a considerable amount of vote share and just managed to win 43 seats in the Bihar elections. Kumar, however, was declared the ruling coalition’s chief ministerial candidate much before the election process had started. According to a PTI news report, the issues that are up for discussion at the meeting include the representation of each constituent in the cabinet and the election of the new assembly speaker.

The report also added that there is speculation that the BJP may push for an EBC or a Dalit to become the deputy chief minister of Bihar. However, it is not clear whether there will be enough support to replace veteran leader Sushil Kumar Modi, who had been holding the post for most parts since 2005. The crucial meeting comes days after the NDA emerged victorious in a cliffhanger contest. The NDA managed to win 125 seats while the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan gave a strong fight and won 110 seats.