Nitish Kumar wins Bihar floor test to start fresh CM innings

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar wins trust vote in assembly, securing 129 votes in the 243-member assembly after the opposition walked out.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar won a trust vote in the assembly on Monday, capping a dramatic few weeks that saw him switch allies, take oath for a record ninth time, and tensions escalate in the days leading up to the floor test.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar at Bihar Legislative Assembly for the floor test of his government on Monday. (PTI)

The ruling coalition got 129 votes in the 243-member assembly after the Opposition walked out, with three members of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) changing allegiances and voting with the government. In the debate that preceded the voting, Kumar’s former deputy Tejashwi Yadav mocked the CM for frequently changing partners, prompting the Janata Dal (United) chief to hit out at his former allies and blame them for the condition of the impoverished state.

“There was no law and order. The RJD indulged in corrupt practices during its rule (before 2005)... I will get these probed,” Kumar said.

Yadav, who was deputy CM between August 2022 and January 2024 when Kumar deserted the alliance and realigned with the BJP, accused the CM of frequent flip-flops.

“There is a lot of talk about Modi ki guarantee. But can he (Modi) guarantee that Nitish Kumar will not take another U-turn? I respected Nitish ji and will continue to respect him. He may have some compulsions for banishing me, who he often described like his son,” he said.

The government also won a no-trust vote against speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhury, an RJD leader, with 125 votes in favour of his removal and 112 against.

The ruling alliance has 128 legislators in the assembly and was expected to win the trust vote. But tensions began building up on Saturday after the RJD corralled all of its lawmakers and two of the three alliance parties at Yadav’s house. At around the same time, three lawmakers of the BJP and two of the JD(U)went incommunicado, fuelling speculation that the trust vote might see a twist.

But the voting was largely on expected lines.

Of the 45 JD(U) members, 44 backed the government, as did all 78 of the BJP and four from Hindustan Awam Morcha (Secular). Sursand lawmaker Dilip Ray defied the JD(U) whip and did not turn up. One independent also supported the government, as did three members of the RJD — Sheohar lawmaker Chetan Anand, the son of criminal-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh, Surgarha RJD MLA Prahlad Yadav, and Neelam Devi, lawmaker from Mokama and wife of jailed strongman Anant Singh.

Deputy speaker Maheshwar Hazari, who is also from the JD(U), did not vote, as the presiding officer was not required to cast a ballot.

The stage seemed set for drama earlier in the day when all NDA MLAs moved a motion of no-confidence against Choudhury. In the voting that followed, two BJP members and one from JD(U) did not turn up, and the ruling alliance won the motion 125-112, a much narrower majority than was expected.

But by 3.30pm, when the voting on the floor test began,129 people had reached the assembly. Deputy speaker Maheshwar Hazari, who belongs to the JD(U), was in the chair. Kumar rose to suggest that Hazari’s vote also be counted. Though unusual — the chair’s vote is only used to break a tie — parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said all votes should be counted to dispel confusion, and Kumar backed the demand.

The trust vote capped weeks of fevered political activity in the state that began when Kumar took charge of the party on December 29 and removed Lalan Singh, fuelling speculation that he was looking to make his fifth switch in the last decade. On January 28, Kumar deserted the Opposition grand alliance and joined hands with the BJP.

Later, Harlakhi MLA Sudhanshu Shekhar of the JD(U) registered an FIR against another one of his fellow party MLA from Parbatta, Sanjiv Kumar, and the RJD’s Sunil with the Kotwali police station on Patna In the FIR. Shekhar alleged that Sanjiv Kumar connived to abduct JD(U) MLAs Bima Bharti and Dilip Rai and offered them ₹10 crore to cross-vote.

Yadav attempted to take credit for the work done by the 17-month-long Grand Alliance government.

“Nitish ji knows I was not interested in joining his government. I wanted to support him from outside. But I assure Nitish ji, if he again has a rethink and needs support, we will think over it. We made a tired CM run. We made him deliver on our job promise. We made the government carry out caste survey despite the BJP’s reluctance. But then, you made a volte face yet again without even communicating the reason to your deputy CM. You were the one who always referred to me as the next generation. What happened to all that?” he asked.

Yadav also addressed former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, who had expressed unhappiness with the ministry allotted to his son Santosh Kumar Suman in the first week of February.

“After Nitish Kumar’s outburst against him on November 10, 2023, Manjhi ji had said the CM was being administered wrong medicine. Now, it is for you get him properly treated. If possible, take a room close to him for his well being. Without stability, there cannot be development in the state,” he said.

He also appealed to the government to continue with the job recruitment that started under the Mahagahtbandhan government. “Whatever compulsions you may have had, at least continue giving jobs to the people in the health sector. You did not want us to take credit. Why should we not take it? We made it possible,” said Yadav.

Kumar hit back soon after, saying that he had heard about corruption (in his government), which he could not tolerate.

“RJD wants to take credit, but they should know the condition of the state prior to 2005 when I took over. There was utter lawlessness, darkness and total absence of roads. My government has been working for Bihar’s development and that will continue,” Kumar said, vowing to continue with the BJP.

“...when his (Tejashwi’s) father and mother got the opportunity to serve Bihar for 15 years. I also gave him two opportunities. I was pained that when I got know that I gave you respect, you were busy making money. When the BJP was with us, they never did this kind of thing. There were also reports that lakhs were being offered to break my party. Where did the money come from? We will get everything probed,” he added.

Deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary attacked the RJD for alleged corruption and said they were facing cases due to the sins of the past.

“Even reservation could not go beyond one family in the RJD and its leaders have no right to speak about marginalised sections of the society,” he said.