'Mahagathbandhan' Collapses: Nitish Set To Take Oath As Bihar CM For Ninth Time With 2 Deputies

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has made his second political volte-face in less than three years as he is set to rejoin the BJP-led NDA alliance.

The JD(U) President submitted his resignation around today. Here are the top developments:

• Nitish will take oath as the CM for the ninth time along with two deputy chief ministers from the BJP at the swearing-in ceremony on Sunday. The oath-taking ceremony is scheduled to be held at 5 in the evening.
• On JD(U) joining NDA and Nitish Kumar set to take oath as Bihar CM again, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president Chirag Paswan said, "I will attend the oath ceremony today as an NDA ally. It is a matter of joy that NDA is coming to power in Bihar...We too have a vision of 'Bihar First, Bihari First'. I have said earlier too that I have had policy-based differences with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and I still have those differences. If the work continues as per his policies, the differences will probably continue in the time to come. I have always believed that his policies have not facilitated development in Bihar."
• Bihar CM and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar met the Governor at Raj Bhavan and told him: "We have decided to sever ties with the 'mahagathbandhan' in the state."
• Bihar MLAs unanimously passed the proposal to form the NDA government in the state with BJP, JD(U) and other allies. Samrat Chaudhary has been elected as the Leader of the legislative party, Vijay Sinha elected as the Deputy Leader.
• Led by the Acting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, leaders of JD(U), BJP, HAM and an Independent MLA met Governor Rajendra Arlekar and staked their claim to form the Government in the state.
• BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde says, "...In the legislative party meeting...all MLAs unanimously passed the proposal to form the NDA government in Bihar with BJP, JD(U) and other NDA allies for the welfare of the people in the state. Samrat Chaudhary has been elected as the Leader of the legislative party, Vijay Sinha elected as the Deputy Leader."

• After being elected as the Leader of the Legislative Party, state BJP chief Samrat Chaudhary says, "BJP did a historic thing for my life...This is an emotional moment for me to have been elected as the Leader of the Legislative Party to be a part of the government...The mandate that we received in 2020 for the development of Bihar and to end the terror of Lalu Yadav - when the BJP received the proposal from Nitish Kumar to ensure that there is no jungle raj in Bihar and Sanjay Jha came here as his ambassador, we decided to support it..."
• After the resignation of Nitish Kumar as the CM of Bihar, RJD leader Mrityunjay Tiwari said, "What was left with him? Public is the master. It watches everything and it will demand an account for everything...The work done by Tejashwi Yadav - janata ke beech jayenge aur NDA ki naav, Nitish ki naav dubayenge..."
• Speaking to reporters, Nitish said that he has asked the Governor to dissolve the government.
• Union Minister and BJP MP Giriraj Singh says, "I thank Nitish Kumar that he has resigned. Whatever be his compulsion, Bihar was perplexed if there was a Jungle Raj 2-like situation in 1.5 years. Had Tejashwi Yadav sat on the seat (CM position), it would have been very difficult...I was concerned about just one thing now, I was apprehensive that with the kind of pressure that Lalu Yadav was putting on him for the 'tajposhi' of Tejashwi - Bihar would have had a jungle raj again. It is free of this now. BJP won't allow jungle raj in Bihar..."

• The fast-changing political events in the state were triggered by a social media post from former CM and RJD chief Lalu Yadav's daughter, Rohini Acharya, in which she took a swipe at the JD(U) saying that while the 'socialist party' styles itself as progressive, its ideology shifts with the changing wind patterns. Thus marking the fourth time that he would be switching sides.
• Janata Dal (United)'s political adviser and spokesperson K C Tyagi had earlier claimed that 'Mahagathbandhan' in Bihar is on the verge of collapse while accusing a section of the Congress leadership of repeatedly "insulting" the Bihar CM. He also alleged that the alliance of INDIA bloc parties is almost over in Punjab, West Bengal and Bihar.

• In the Bihar Assembly, consisting of 243 members, the RJD has 79 seats, closely trailed by the BJP with 78 seats. The JD(U) has 45 seats, followed by the Congress's 19 seats, the CPI (M-L) has 12 seats, and both the CPI(M) and CPI each have two seats. The Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) has four seats, while AIMIM holds one, with an additional seat occupied by an Independent legislator.

• In a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda, Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas) leader Chirag Paswan raised some concerns and is learnt to have sought assurance that his party will not have to compromise on its share of seats in the Lok Sabha polls after Kumar's entry in the National Democratic Alliance.