Bihar Political Crisis, Nitish Kumar Resignation LIVE Updates: Sealing his return to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) leader Nitish Kumar on Sunday, 28 January, took oath as the chief minister for the ninth time, hours after he resigned from the post to walk out of the Mahagathbandhan alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the INDIA bloc.
The leaders who took oath with Nitish Kumar include Samrat Chaudhary (BJP), Vijay Sinha (BJP), Prem Kumar (BJP), Bijendra Prasad Yadav (JD(U)), Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (JD(U)), Sharavan Kumar (JD(U)), Sumit Singh (Independent), and Santosh Suman (HAM).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X to congratulate the Nitish Kumar and the and expressed confidence that the "team will serve family members of the state with full dedication."
Developments before the ceremony: Shortly after tendering his resignation to the Governor on Sunday morning, Kumar met with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, following which he staked claim to form the government with the support of 128 MLAs.
Addressing the media after submitting his resignation to the Governor, Kumar said: "I have resigned as the CM and given a letter to the governor to dissolve government. There were suggestions from all leaders that I should resign. I had issues, that's why I resigned. I had left the previous alliance and made a new one but I saw that the situation here was not good. So, the suggestion (to step down) was coming from all sides."
The resignation comes as a big blow to the Opposition's unity, as the JD(U) blamed the RJD for 'several issues' in Bihar and the Congress for rifts in the INDIA bloc.
Reacting to the events, RJD leader and former deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav said: "People said that he (Nitish) did not work. We made him work. People called him a 'thaka hua' CM. He doesn't understand what he is talking. There is no anger or disappointment in the RJD. We worked well in the Mahagathbandhan. I just want to say that the game is still on."
Other Key developments so far:
Bihar BJP leaders met Nitish Kumar at his residence to extend a letter of support shortly after his resignation.
The oath-taking ceremony took place at Raj Bhavan at 5:00 pm.
Eight leaders were sworn in with Nitish Kumar - three from the JD(U), three from the BJP, one from Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morch (HAM), and one independent MLA.
BJP leader Samrat Chaudhary, along with Vijay Sinha were sworn in as deputy chief ministers.
Addressing the media earlier, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said that the party was aware of Nitish's move.
Janata Dal (United) leader KC Tyagi on Sunday said: "There were issues with RJD locally but the INDIA alliance will fall due to the Congress' attitude."
JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar speaks with the media after submitting his resignation as Bihar chief minister to Governor Rajendra Arlekar, outside Raj Bhavan, in Patna, Sunday, 28 January.
(Photo: PTI)
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