Nitish says allied with BJP in Bihar’s interest; Sushil Modi Deputy CM

Patna/Delhi-A day after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar resigned from his post, he was sworn in as the state’s CM for the sixth time here today. Union Minister JP Nadda and NDA legislators were among those who attended the ceremony.

Governor KN Tripathi also administered the oath to BJP leader and former Deputy CM Sushil Modi for the same post. Nitish said: “We took the decision (to break the alliance with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD and the Congress) in the interest of people. We want to assure every Bihar resident that we will take the state to the path of development and ensure justice”.

Later, a Cabinet meeting was held, where it was decided that a special session of the Legislative Assembly would be held tomorrow for a floor test at 11 am.

Nitish had yesterday resigned amid mounting Opposition pressure over the continuation of RJD leader Tejaswi Prasad Yadav as Deputy CM, despite the latter facing graft charges. Within hours, Nitish met the Governor, along with NDA leaders, and submitted a list of 132 MLAs backing him as their leader, apparently to pre-empt the RJD, the single largest party with 80 MLAs, staking claim to form the government. Outwitted, the RJD today observed ‘Vishwasghat Diwas’ across the state.

“The BJP-RSS-JD (U) was a fixed match. The Grand Alliance had received a mandate against communal forces, but Nitish ignored this mandate and joined the BJP,” RJD chief Lalu Yadav said.

In Delhi, JD(U) Rajya Sabha MPs Ali Anwar and Veerendra Kumar met senior leader Sharad Yadav amid reports that the latter too was displeased with Nitish.

Meanwhile, two petitions have been filed in the Patna HC, challenging the formation of the new government.