Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s National Democratic Alliance government won the floor test in the state Legislative Assembly on Monday, garnering the support of 130 MLAs.

Opposition MLAs from the Rashtriya Janata Dal, a former ally of Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) party, led by former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, walked out of the House during Kumar’s speech.

During the session, three Rashtriya Janata Dal MLAs – Prahlad Yadav, Neelam Devi and Chetan Anand – defected to the National Democratic Alliance. Ahead of the trust vote, the Bihar Legislative Assembly passed a no-confidence motion against Speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary, with 125 MLAs voting to oust him.

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On January 28, Kumar had resigned from the top post and quit the Mahagathbandhan coalition that also comprised the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress. He took oath as Bihar’s chief minister once again, for the ninth time, just hours later with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Earlier in the day, the Rashtriya Janata Dal posted on social media that Kumar had sent thousands of police personnel to surround Tejashwi Yadav’s home. The party asserted that it would not back down and would emerge victorious.

The party’s MLAs had been confined to Tejashwi Yadav’s residence since Saturday night, ahead of the floor test, while the Congress flew out its MLAs to Hyderabad.

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Under Kumar, the Janata Dal (United) had earlier allied with the BJP on two occasions, only to break ties later. The chief minister first broke the alliance with the BJP in 2013 after it projected Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Speaking at a rally in Bihar’s Purnea district on January 30, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the Mahagathbandhan alliance will continue to fight for social justice and does not need Kumar.

Also read: Why does the anti-defection law not apply to Nitish Kumar?