A day after dumping BJP and breaking out of NDA, Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar on Wednesday took oath as Bihar's chief minister at Raj Bhavan in Patna again for the eighth time.
This comes a day after JD(U) officially walked out of NDA in the state and Kumar resigned as the CM, paving the way for the formation of the Mahagathbandhan alliance with RJD, and Congress.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav who called for a new chapter after sharing an acrimonious past with Nitish Kumar, took oath as Deputy Chief Minister.
BJP accused Nitish Kumar and his party of betraying the NDA as well as the people of the state, a charge dismissed by RJD that emerged as the single largest party in the previous state elections.
Nitish Kumar claims support of 164 MLAs
In a day of fast-paced political developments, Bihar's chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday twice met Governor Phagu Chauhan, first to hand over his resignation as NDA chief minister and then after being elected leader of the RJD-led 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) to stake a claim for the top job in the state once again.
Kumar said he submitted a list of 164 MLAs to the governor who will decide when the oath-taking can take place. The effective strength of the state Assembly is 242 and the magic figure is 122.
JD-U and BJP fought elections as allies in 2020
JD-U and BJP had fought the 2020 assembly polls together and Nitish Kumar was made the chief minister of the alliance though the BJP had won more seats. Nitish Kumar's ties with BJP stretched to over two decades and he was a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1996.
JD-U leaders indicated that factors including the developments related to the exit of RCP Singh from the party had soured the ties with BJP. JD-U leaders have also been chaffing at the role of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan during the 2020 assembly polls and have indicated that his putting up candidates from seats contested by the party had damaged it.
JD-U and RJD had fought the 2015 Bihar polls together. JD-U has 45 and the RJD has 79 MLAs in the 243-member Bihar assembly.
JD-U is the third major ally to leave the BJP in the past over three years after Shiv Sena and Shiromani Akali Dal.
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