Oath taking ceremony of new Bihar govt tomorrow, says RJD

PATNA: JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar is likely to take oath as Bihar's chief minister again on Wednesday afternoon, according to a tweet by his new alliance partner Rashtriya Janata Dal. "The swearing-in ceremony of Honorable Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister will be held tomorrow at 2 pm at Raj Bhavan," the party said in a tweet from its official handle.

While the RJD tweet did not mention any names, it is widely expected that Nitish Kumar would be the chief minister while Tejashwi Yadav would become his deputy. In a day of fast-paced political developments, Bihar's chief minister Nitish Kumar twice met Governor Phagu Chauhan, first to hand over his resignation as NDA chief minister and then after being elected leader of the RJD-led `Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) to stake claim for the top job in the state once again.

Kumar said he submitted a list of 164 MLAs to the governor who will decide when the oath-taking can take place. The effective strength of the state Assembly is 242 and the magic figure is 122. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday lashed out JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar's decision to resign as the Chief Minister of Bihar and stake claim to form a government with Opposition parties in the state, saying that 'Kumar has disrespected the mandate of Bihar's people'.

Addressing a short presser in Patna today, Prasad said, "Nitish Kumar has left and said that BJP was trying to destroy his party...BJP made him a union minister several times. He was also made a Chief Minister. Why did he re-think his decision on alliance with RJD in 2015 and come to BJP in 2017?." "Nitish Kumar is disrespecting the mandate of Bihar's people. It's baseless allegation that BJP was trying to destroy JD(U)," said BJP MP RS Prasad today.

Hours after resigning as Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said that he has submitted a list of 164 MLAs to the Bihar Governor and staked claim to form a new government. "We submitted a list of 164 MLAs to the governor and staked claim to form a new government. He will let us know when oath-taking can take place," Nitish told reporters. Notably, JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar has been elected as the leader of Mahagathbandhan or the Grand Alliance. Nitish Kumar called off the alliance between the JD(U) and BJP in Bihar and resigned as the state's chief minister on Tuesday.

Nitish Kumar met Tejashwi Yadav after resigning as CM and the duo met the Governor to stake claim to the government. After meeting the Bihar Governor, JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar said, "We have the support of seven parties and one Independent MLA. The letter of support has been signed by all."

Former Union minister RCP Singh, who quit JD(U) amid a rift with Nitish Kumar, said that JD(U) snapping ties with BJP and joining hands with Tejashwi Yadav is a betrayal of the 2020 mandate. Earlier, in the JD(U) meeting today, all MLAs and MPs of the party supported chief minister Kumar's decision and said that they were with him. They also asserted that they will continue to support Kumar in his decision.