Bihar Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar on Friday said that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has time until March 30 to resign from the Legislative Council, in view of his election to the Rajya Sabha, The Hindu reported.
Prem Kumar was referring to the 1950 Prohibition of Simultaneous Membership Rules that requires a person elected to Parliament and a state legislature to resign from one within 14 days. Failure to do so leads to their parliamentary membership being automatically terminated.
Nitish Kumar was elected to the Rajya Sabha on March 16 for the first time. His current Legislative Council term, the fourth consecutive, was to end in 2030.
He had become the chief minister for the 10th time in November after the Assembly elections.
Janata Dal (United) leader Sanjay Kumar Jha confirmed that Nitish Kumar would follow the constitutional procedure, The New Indian Express reported.
Prem Kumar also said that Article 164(4) of the Constitution permits a person to hold the office of the chief minister for up to six months without being a member of the state legislature, The Hindu reported.
“Yes, there is also provision to continue as the chief minister for up to six months, and after that he has to either go for the Assembly election or become a member of the [Legislative] Council,” the speaker said.
While announcing his candidature for the Rajya Sabha elections on March 5, Nitish Kumar said that it had been his desire to serve in all four legislative roles at the state and central level – a member of the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, as well as of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
While he is currently a member of the Legislative Council, he had previously served terms as an MLA and Lok Sabha MP.
Therefore, it has been speculated that Nitish Kumar would step down as the chief minister after being elected to the Upper House of Parliament. However, it is unclear who will replace him and when.
Also read: As Nitish Kumar quits as Bihar CM, what will happen to his politics of social justice?
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