Nitish resigns as Bihar CM, says exited INDIA bloc as it failed expectations

Read below: Eight leaders also to take oath as Nitish’s ministers

PATNA — Janata Dal(U) Chief Nitish Kumar resigned as the Bihar chief minister on Sunday after severing ties with the ruling ‘Mahagathbandhan’ as “things were not going well”.

“I have exited the Mahagathbandhan,” said Kumar after leaving Raj Bhawan, and added that he has dissolved the government in the state.

Soon after his resignation, Kumar got a surprise phone call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who congratulated him for leaving the INDIA bloc and joining the NDA, said sources.

Earlier in the morning, Nitish Kumar addressed his party MLAs inside the chief minister’s residence where he said that working with the RJD was getting very tough and hence has broken the alliance.

“Working with RJD was not going smoothly. We have taken the suggestion from every party leader and they are also advocating the same and hence I have given the resignation from the post of chief minister,” Nitish Kumar said after resigning.

“We have formed an alliance (INDIA Bloc) but they are not working on it. Of late, working with the previous alliance was not going easy. They were making many statements. I was silently watching that. They have said many things but I was doing the job for the common people of Bihar,” Kumar said.

When asked whether he was an opportunist, Kumar did not react.

Nitish Kumar also said that he has given the resignation and will discuss with the leaders of new alliance members and then decide the next step.

Eight leaders also to take oath as Nitish’s ministers

Eight leaders will take oath as cabinet ministers, including three each from BJP and JD(U), one from Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular and one independent along with Nitish Kumar, according to a source in the Chief minister’s residence.

Nitish Kumar, who resigned from the post of chief minister of Bihar on Sunday morning, will take oath as the CM for the ninth time in his political career.

The three leaders of BJP are Samrat Choudhary, Vijay Kumar Sinha and Prem Kumar.

Choudhary and Sinha will take oath as deputy chief ministers. Prem Kumar was a cabinet minister in the previous NDA government.

From the JD(U), Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Bijendra Yadav and Shrawan Kumar are likely to take oath as the cabinet minister.

Santosh Kumar Manjhi, the son of Jitan Ram Manjhi and independent MLA Sumit Singh will also take oath as cabinet ministers.

The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to take place in Raj Bhawan in a few hours from now.

Also read: JD(U) says INDIA bloc is collapsing but Congress says ‘no implosion’ in alliance