CM Samrat to seek trust vote on April 24

It will be a one-day session, according to a notification issued by the Vidhan Sabha director Rajiv Kumar on Saturday

The Samrat Choudhary government will seek a confidence vote in the second session of the 18th Bihar Legislative Assembly scheduled for April 24, an official said. It will be a one-day session, according to a notification issued by the Vidhan Sabha director Rajiv Kumar on Saturday.

JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, left, with Bihar chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, right, during a meeting at the CM’s residence, 5 Deshratna Marg, in Patna on Saturday. (PTI)

On December 1 last year, the inaugural session of the 18th Vidhan Sabha was convened, but the Nitish government did not seek a trust vote due to the brute majority it enjoyed with the NDA, holding 202 of the 243 seats in the Assembly. The Speaker’s unanimous election also underlined the majority.

However, although the NDA arithmetic remains unchanged, with a change of guard at the top the Samrat government will seek the trust vote in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution.

“Article 164(2) of the Constitution specifies that the Council of Ministers in a state is collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly. In that spirit, the trust vote will be sought, as it is a new government with a new chief minister,” said an Assembly official.

The Samrat Cabinet currently has a strength of just three members, including two Deputy CMs, Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav. The cabinet expansion is expected in May.

In Bihar, the cabinet can have a maximum of 36 ministers, including the CM, but the Nitish cabinet also worked with a truncated strength of 26.

In the Bihar Assembly, the BJP is the largest party with 89 members, followed by JD(U) (84) and LJP (19). RJD, which emerged as the largest party in 2020, has managed to secure just 25 seats, making it eligible for the LoP position, while the NDA enjoys a brute majority with 202 seats in the 243-member House.

The one-day session ahead of the monsoon session expected in July may also reflect any changing dynamics in the House. This is because four opposition members—three from the Congress and one from the RJD—did not vote during the Rajya Sabha election on March 16, allowing the NDA to secure all five seats. An Assembly official said no party has approached the Speaker for any action against them so far.