Nitish Kumar submitted his resignation as Bihar Chief Minister to Governor Phagu Chauhan on Tuesday after ending JD(U)'s alliance with BJP for the second time in eight years. Speaking to reporters outside the Bihar Raj Bhavan, Nitish Kumar said, "All MPs and MLAs are at a consensus that we should leave the NDA."
After leaving the Raj Bhavan, Nitish Kumar met Leader of the Opposition and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. Earlier in the day, the RJD-led Grand Alliance, comprising the Left and the Congress, held a meeting where all the MLAs signed a letter of support to Kumar, PTI reported.
Kumar is likely to meet the Governor a second time with Tejashwi Yadav to seek a new term as Chief Minister and form the government with the RJD-led Grand Alliance.
The decision to sever ties with the NDA was taken at a meeting Nitish Kumar chaired with party legislators and MPs. He reportedly told his party members that he had been driven against the wall by the BJP.
Kumar said BJP had been trying to weaken his JD(U), first by propping up Chirag Paswan's rebellion and later through the party's former national president RCP Singh.
Singh, perceived to be close to the BJP, was made a Cabinet minister at the Centre without Nitish Kumar's explicit agreement. Last week, Singh resigned from JD(U) after being served a notice seeking explanation on allegations of corruption. He was also refused an extension of his Rajya Sabha seat a few months ago by the JD(U).
Relations between the BJP and the Nitish Kumar have been worsening for quite some time in the wake of disagreements over a host of issues, including caste census and the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme.
The JD(U) has also been nursing a grievance about the BJP ignoring its claim of three berths in the Union Council of Ministers.
The Bihar Assembly has 243 seats. However, its effective strength is 242 presently after RJD MLA Anant Kumar Singh lost his membership of the Assembly following conviction in a criminal case.
The JD(U) has 45 MLAs and it also has the support of an independent candidate Sumit Singh. LJP MLA Raj Kumar Singh also merged with the JD(U). Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), which has four MLAs, has decided to stay with Nitish Kumar. Thus, the final count of MLAs with Nitish Kumar is 51.
On the Mahagathbandhan front, the RJD has 79 MLAs, Congress has 19 MLAs, CPI (ML) has 12 MLAs, CPI has 2 and CPI(M) also has 2 seats. Hence, Nitish Kumar will have the support of 165 MLAs.