LIVE | ‘Will stay together’: Nitish after taking oath as Bihar CM in NDA fold
Nitish says “things were not working well” for him in the Mahagathbandhan and the INDIA bloc, returns to NDA, which he had dumped less than 18 months ago
JD(U) president Nitish Kumar on Sunday (January 28) took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for a record ninth time after he and his party left the Mahagathbandhan alliance in the state and the Opposition INDIA alliance at the national level and joined the BJP-led NDA alliance yet again.
He was administered the oath of office by Governor Rajendra Arlekar at the Raj Bhavan in Patna.
Along with Kumar, BJP leaders Vijay Kumar Sinha and Samrat Choudhary took oath as ministers in the Kumar-led government.
Earlier in the day, Kumar resigned as the Chief Minister of Bihar, saying “things were not working well” for him in the Mahagathbandhan and the INDIA bloc, and staked claim to form a new government with the BJP, which he had dumped less than 18 months ago.
The swearing-in ceremony started at 5 pm.
Talking to reporters in Patna after submitting his resignation to Governor Rajendra Arlekar, Kumar said: “I have submitted my resignation to the Governor. The government that was in place now comes to an end. I have let it go.”
At the state BJP headquarters, the party’s in-charge Vinod Tawde said: “…A proposal was moved to support the JD(U) and form an NDA government, which was unanimously accepted by all MLAs.”
Tawde also said that state BJP president Samrat Choudhary and former Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha have been named as leader and deputy leader, respectively of the legislature party.
The 72-year-old Kumar indicated that he was not feeling happy with the way things were in the Mahagathbandhan in the state as well as the INDIA bloc that he helped take shape but which failed to adequately recognise his efforts.
“You all know how I came to this alliance and also how I worked to bring together so many parties. But of late things were not working well. It was not going down well with those in my party as well,” said Kumar.
He also made an indirect reference to the deafening silence he had maintained over the political turmoil that had engulfed the state for the past few days.
Kumar resigned after a meeting of the JD(U) legislature party, which authorised him to take any decision about the alliance.
The swearing-in was held in the presence of BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, who arrived in Patna in the afternoon.
Kumar had joined the Mahagathbandhan in August 2022, when he had snapped ties with the BJP accusing it of trying to “split” his JD(U). He formed a new government with a multi-party coalition that included RJD, Congress and three Left parties.
(With agency inputs)
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Live Updates
- 28 Jan 2024 4:44 PM IST
Better late than ever: Athawale on Nitish return
Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Sunday welcomed JD(U) president Nitish Kumar’s decision to join the BJP-led NDA, calling it “better late than ever”.
The central minister of state for social justice and empowerment said Kumar has taken the right decision at the right time to be a part of the NDA.
“We had told Nitish ji not to go with Lalu Yadav (RJD chief) saying ‘they won’t treat you well’. But better late than never... I had told him to align with Modi ji… Now, he has made the right decision, so I am thanking him,” Athawale told reporters.
The Union minister claimed that the opposition grouping has got a big blow due to Kumar’s departure. “Narendra Modi will become prime minister again in 2024. Nobody can stop the ‘vikas rath’ of Narendra Modi and we all are sitting on it,” Athawale said.
Athawale, who is the president of the Republican Party of India (A), also took a potshot at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
“When the Congress government was there for 70 years, why Rahul Gandhi’s party did not unite the country? The Constitution is already uniting the country. Narendra Modi is there to do this. Gandhi should rather take a yatra to unite the Congress,” he said.
Referring to Gandhi’s defeat in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi constituency, earlier considered a secure political base for his family, in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Athawale quipped that the Congress leader should be worried about his own party.
(With agency inputs)
- 28 Jan 2024 4:42 PM IST
JD(U)-BJP alliance won't last till next Bihar polls: Prashant Kishor
JD(U) president Nitish Kumar’s newly-formed alliance with BJP would unravel before the 2025 Assembly polls in Bihar, political-strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor claimed on Sunday.
Kishor also claimed that the BJP could end up paying a “huge price” for realigning with Kumar, after declaring that its doors were shut for the leader by whom it was ditched less than 18 months ago.
“Nitish Kumar’s volte-face is no surprise. I had been saying that he would not remain with the Mahagathbandhan ever since he had joined the combine,” Kishor told reporters in Begusarai district of the state which he was touring as part of his Jan Suraaj campaign.
“But today’s development proves that if Nitish is ‘palturam’ (weathercock), Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are no different. The BJP seems to have made a calculation in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. But it will pay a huge price in the assembly polls due next year,” he said.
Kishore, who has worked closely in his professional capacity for both Modi and the JD(U) supremo, said the BJP will have a tough time explaining to its voters why it backed Kumar, despite having said that its doors were closed for him.
“I make another prediction and you can catch me if I am proven wrong. The alliance that has been formed will not last till the assembly polls. In fact, it may come apart within a few months of the Lok Sabha polls,” he said.
He alleged, “The BJP is doing now what the Congress had done during RJD supremo Lalu Prasad’s time. Both national parties have aligned with hugely unpopular regional leaders for small gains at the central level.” Kishor claimed that the Jan Suraaj campaign is committed to putting an end to this “revolving-door politics”.
(With agency inputs)
