Nitish Kumar dumps RJD, Congress, resigns as Bihar CM; to form government with BJP

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar unexpectedly resigned on Wednesday, but hours later joined hands with the BJP to reclaim the government.

Patna: In a dramatic political development, Nitish Kumar on Wednesday resigned as Bihar Chief Minister dumping the RJD and Congress to stitch a new alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Nitish, whose resignation was immediately accepted by Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, hours later joined hands with the BJP to reclaim the government in a stunning political manoeuvre that relegated his alliance partner RJD to the Opposition.

The ostensible reason for Kumar to quit was his falling out with Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, the son of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad. Yadav is facing corruption charges but had refused to step down despite Kumar's exhortations.

This is what Nitish said after his resignation:

"In the circumstances that prevail in Bihar, it became difficult to run the grand alliance government," Kumar told reporters outside Raj Bhavan after submitting his resignation to the Governor.

He added that with a slew of corruption charges, he expected Tejashwi to give an explanation that could have formed the basis for his continuing in office. 

"I waited so that we could have found a way out but nothing of the sort happened. The charges were against a member of the government. I was not in a position to do anything. There was no basis for the government to function. In such a situation, it was not possible for the government to function. I heeded to the call of my conscience and decided to resign," he said.

He said he told Lalu, Congress leader CP Joshi and the JD(U) Legislature Party about his decision to resign.

Kumar further said he faced a lot of criticism for supporting demonetisation, which had caught the people's imagination, and back Ram Nath Kovind - "who had done a good job as Governor of Bihar and whose becoming the President was a matter of pride for the state".

BJP extends support to Nitish to form government:

Soon after, senior BJP leader Sushil Modi announced that the BJP would support Nitish to form a new government in which it would be the junior partner.

"We will support the government under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. The BJP legislature party has full confidence in Nitish Kumar as its leader. The decision has also been conveyed to Nitish Kumar which he has accepted," he said, as per IANS.

The Bihar BJP leader also said that a list of 132 MLAs supporting the alliance was submitted to the governor who has invited Kumar to form the government. These include 71 of JD(U), BJP 53, RLSP 2, LJP 2, HAM 1 and three Independents.

He said the swearing-in ceremony will be held at 10 am tomorrow. It would be Kumar's sixth term as CM.

RJD has 81 MLAs and Congress with 27 MLAs and CPI-ML (03).

The JD(U)-BJP combine will now return to power after four years in the politically volatile state. Prodded by Kumar, the JD(U) had walked out of the NDA in July 2013 after Narendra Modi was nominated head of the BJP's campaign committee for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Lalu slams Nitish Kumar, calls his resignation 'drama':

Reacting to the development, Lalu gave a new twist to it, saying a pending case against Kumar and not the differences over corruption charges against Tejashwi was at the root the the JD(U) leader's "resignation drama".

In the 1991 Lok Sabha polls, a woman was killed at a polling station in Pandarak and Nitish Kumar is among the accused. He had made a mention of the case in the affidavit he filed while contesting the Legislative Council election, Lalu told a press conference.

The RJD chief claimed a court in Barh had taken cognizance of the charges against Kumar in 2009 and that the case was still alive in the Patna High Court.

"Nitish knew that he was soon going to be hauled up by the court and will have to quit in any case. He made the Tejashwi issue a ruse to exit before that happens," he claimed.

He slammed Kumar for seeking explanation from Tejashwi over graft charges against him, saying, "We will give the documents to CBI. Who are they to ask for it? Has Tejashwi engaged in any act of corruption as a minister in Bihar?"

Replying to a question, Lalu said he had not sacrificed the Grand Alliance government for "love of his son".

"We were the largest party in the Grand Alliance. Tejashwi got the post of the Deputy CM. We had the mandate of the people," he said, as per PTI.

PM Modi praises Nitish for joining fight against corruption:

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi hailed the resignation of Kumar as Bihar CM, saying in doing so he has joined the fight against corruption.

Immediately after Kumar announced his resignation, PM Modi tweeted, "Congratulations. Mr Nitish Kumar for joining the fight against corruption. 1.25 crore people are welcoming and supporting his honesty."

"For the bright future of the country, and especially Bihar, it is the need of the hour to rise above political differences and join the fight against corruption," PM Modi added.

Nitish Kumar responded, "I am thankful to Narendra Modi for supporting the decision I took."

(With Agency inputs)