Nitish Kumar will take oath as Bihar chief minister at 10 am on Thursday with the support of Bharatiya Janata Party, reported ANI. Senior BJP leader Sushil Modi is likely to be sworn in as the deputy chief minister.
“We have submitted a letter with [the] support of 132 legislators,” said Modi after he and Kumar met Bihar Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi to stake claim to form a new government. “We have been given the time of 10 am today [Thursday] for swearing in,” he added, according to NDTV. The 132 legislators include 71 from Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), 53 from the BJP, two each from the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party and the Lok Janshakti Party, one from Hindustani Awam Morcha and three Independents, reported The Times of India.
This will be Kumar’s sixth term as the chief minister. The JD(U) president had resigned as chief minister on Wednesday, citing major dissatisfaction with his former ally the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son Tejashwi Yadav met the governor late on Wednesday night to lodge their protest against the swearing-in. He said that the RJD should have been invited to form the government as it is the largest party in Bihar. The RJD has 81 legislators in the Assembly. “RJD being the single largest party in the state should be given an opportunity to stake claim to form the government,” said Yadav, according to The Times of India.
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