Bihar Govt Formation Process Begins As CM Nitish Kumar Tenders His Resignation To Governor

Governor after accepting the resignation asked Kumar to continue as the interim CM of the state until a new government in sworn in.

Nitish Kumar presents his resignation letter to Governor Fagu Chauhan. (Image: PTI)

Bihar Chief Minister on Friday, tendered his resignation to the Governor of the state Phagu Chauhan, at Raj Bhawan in Patna. Kumar leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar, has won a majority of 125 in the 243-seat assembly. Along with his resignation, the CM also recommended the Governor to dissolve the state assembly.    Governor after accepting the resignation asked Kumar to continue as the interim CM of the state until a new government in sworn in. Leaders of the parties that constitute the NDA in Bihar including, deputy CM of the state Sushil Modi, former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, VIP leader Mukesh Sahni, Union Minister Nityanand Rai, and BJP's Bihar unit chief Sanjay Jaiswal were among those who met Nitish Kumar at his official residence, informally on Friday morning, before the CM tendered his resignation. When asked about who will be the NDA's chief ministerial face in the state earlier this week, Nitish Kumar had told media reporters that the alliance will take a final call in this regard. The BJP had projected Kumar as the chief ministerial candidate of the alliance even before the elections. However, Nitish Kumar's JD(U) managed to win only 43 seats compared to the BJP which managed to secure a victory on 74 seats in the 243-member Bihar Assembly. In order to pave way for the new government in the state, the current cabinet headed by Nitish Kumar held a meeting on Friday. Issues such as representation in the new state cabinet and the election of an Assembly speaker were discussed during this meeting. The tenure of the Bihar Assembly's current session expires on November 29. "These formalities have to be completed before the formation of a new government. The cabinet's recommendations will be forwarded to the governor whose nod will be followed by other steps leading to the formation of a new government," Nitish Kumar told the reporters on Friday. While the state of Bihar is set to witness a new cabinet and the fourth term of Nitish Kumar, there are speculations that the BJP may endorse an EBC or Dalit as Deputy CM. As per reports, Kameshwar Chaupal, a senior BJP leader who was chosen to lay the foundation stone at the Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya in the 1990s, could be sharing the post of Deputy CM with Sushil Kumar Modi in Bihar. However, no official statement has been issued in this regard as of yet. In the recent Bihar election, it was widely anticipated that Tejaswi Yadav led Grand Alliance would win the majority in the elections, but the alliance managed to secure only 111 seats. While members of the alliance Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberations) bagged 12 seats, congress only managed to get 19 seats. It is also worth mentioning that Member of Parliament from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi’s party AIMIM won 5 seats in the latest elections.