Nitish Kumar to take oath as Bihar CM on Sunday

Patna: Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar will take oath as the new chief minister of Bihar on February 22 after the drmatic exit of Jitan Ram Manjhi, less than an hour before a confidence vote in the state assembly yesterday.

With numbers on his side Nitish Kumar later met the state's Governor and staked claim to form the next government.

"Governor KN Tripathi has invited Nitish Kumar to form the next government after he met him at Raj Bhavan and formally staked claim," Janata Dal-United spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said.

In a series of press briefings both Manjhi and Nitish Kumar explained their stand on the fortnight long political crisis and promised to workfor the development of the state.

Manjhi, on his turn, claimed that he as well as some legislators supporting him had received threats to their lives.

Nitish Kumar also publicly apologised to the people for his "mistake" for having resigned as chief minister last year.

"I admit that I made a mistake by resigning as chief minister. I publicly apologise for it to the people of Bihar. Please forgive me, as I will not repeat my mistake," Nitish Kumar said at a press conference here.

Nitish Kumar saying sorry was akin to Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal`s apology for resigning as the Delhi chief minister after 49 days in power last year.

The AAP made a stunning comeback in the national capital, winning 67 of the 70 assembly seats.

Nitish Kumar apologised twice during his half-an-hour address to the media here. He made it clear that he will not take any such emotional decision in the future.

"I have submitted my resignation letter to the Governor. I should have quit before," said Manjhi soon after he met Tripathi.

Nitish Kumar described Manjhi`s sudden decision to quit as chief minister just ahead of the floor test as a "unique situation". "There was high-voltage drama."

"This is perhaps happening for the first time. The Governor was to address the joint session. Half an hour before that, the chief minister resigned," Nitish Kumar told reporters.

Countering Manjhi`s accusation, Nitish Kumar said it was "hilarious".

"I have never interfered in any work," he said.
Nitish Kumar said he will work in the same manner in which he had worked during his last eight and a half years as chief minister.

"For me, governance and only governance will be the priority," he said.

Nitish Kumar said the Bharatiya Janata Party`s game plan has failed.

"The BJP tried to split the JD(U) but failed and Manjhi fled the field," he said.

The former chief minister said the BJP wrote the script for the current political situation in his state.

On Feb 8, the JD(U) submitted letters of support to the governor staking claim to form the government. The move came a day after Nitish Kumar was re-elected the legislature party leader.

Manjhi was picked by the former chief minister as his replacement when he quit last year after the JD(U)`s rout in the Lok Sabha polls.

In the 243-member assembly, the JD(U) has 115 legislators - most of whom are with Nitish Kumar. The party has the support of 24 Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) legislators, five Congress legislators, two independents and a Communist Party of India legislator.

The BJP has 88 legislators and is supported by three Independents.