Nitish Kumar resigns as Bihar chief minister, set to align with BJP
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar tendered his resignation to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Sunday, marking a significant departure from the grand alliance less than 18 months after forming a government in the state with the support of Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal.
The decision came after a meeting of Janata Dal (United) MLAs at Nitish Kumar's residence around 10:15 am. Following the meeting, Nitish Kumar met with the governor at the Raj Bhavan to formally submit his resignation. The JD(U) president is now expected to stake a claim to form a new government, this time with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Addressing reporters outside the Raj Bhavan in Patna, the capital city of Bihar, Nitish Kumar stated, "Today, I have resigned from the post of chief minister, and I have also asked the governor to dissolve the government in the state." He explained that his decision to part ways from the earlier alliance, INDIA, was due to internal issues within the coalition.
"I will leave the earlier alliance (INDIA) as things were not working well there and form a new alliance," declared Kumar after resigning.
Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar accepted Nitish Kumar's resignation and requested him to continue as the caretaker chief minister until a new government is formed.
Sources suggest that a new government, backed by the BJP, is likely to be established by the evening.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promptly reached out to Nitish Kumar, congratulating him on the move.
Notably, INDIA was a 28-party opposition bloc, including Congress, Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, RJD, Left parties, Samajwadi Party, and several other regional parties. The coalition was formed to challenge the BJP-led government in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
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