Nitish Kumar-Led NDA Government Wins Trust Vote In Bihar, Opposition Walks Out

Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the ninth time on January 28. The newly established NDA government won the trust vote on February 12, coinciding with the start of the assembly's budget session.The Opposition-led Mahagathbandhan alliance staged a walkout.

Kumar left the 'Mahagathbandhan' and joined forces with the BJP to form the new government, despite having parted ways with them less than 18 months ago.

Bihar Floor Test | Top Points

• Nitish Kumar-led NDA government won the trust vote on Monday with the support of 129 MLAs.

  After winning the vote, Kumar addressed the Assembly and he attacked Lalu Prasad government as he said, "Since 2005, when I got into power, there has been significant development in Bihar. Before that, his (Tejashwi Yadav's) father and mother got the opportunity to serve Bihar for 15 years. What did they do? There used to be many conflicts between Hindus and Muslims. But when I came to power, these conflicts stopped."

• RJD leader and former Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav took a swipe at Nitish Kumar at Assembly on Monday, he said, “We want to congratulate CM for taking an oath nine times in a row creating history, not just that, he has taken oaths thirce in single terms too."

  Further, Yadav questioned Kumar, "We don't know what were the circumstances but we know something would have happened. What is the reason that you are sometimes here, sometimes there?"

  He also added, "We will always respect CM Nitish Kumar...When you came out of Raj Bhavan after resigning, you (Nitish Kumar) said 'Mann nhi lag raha tha, hum log nachne gaane ke liye thode hai...we were there to support you..."

• Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has moved motion of confidence for his govt in assembly.

• 125 MLAs supported the no-confidence motion against the Speaker in the Bihar Assembly, while 112 members voted against it.

• Tejashwi Yadav from RJD pointed out that he didn't appreciate some RJD members sitting with the ruling NDA members before a vote on Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary. The Deputy Speaker, Maheshwar Hazari, who was in charge, didn't make a decision on Tejashwi Yadav's concern.

• BJP MLA Nandkishore Yadav moved a no-confidence motion against Bihar Assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary. Chaudhary, who belongs to the RJD, had refused to step down after his party lost power a fortnight ago when Chief Minister Nitish Kumar snapped ties with 'Mahagathbandhan' and returned to the BJP-led coalition.

• RJD Spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav accused the NDA-backed state government of forcing RJD MLAs to sit on side of JD(U)'s whip, he told ANI, "Two MLAs Chetan Anand & Neelam Devi have been made to sit on the side of JDU's whip. They were given threats and whatnot...What kind of trading is this..."

• Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlekar has addressed the state Assembly ahead of the trust vote amid eruptions from opposition. Governor continued to emphasize the government's commitment to 'rule of law'.

• Bihar Assembly Speaker and RJD leader Awadh Bihari Choudhary addressed the State Assembly in Patna.

• Chief Minister Nitish Kumar along with Deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Chaudhary reached the state Assembly.

• RJD leader and former Bihar CM Rabri Devi has also left from home for the trust vote.

• JD(U) MLA Sanjeev Singh was detained in Nawada on Monday morning hours before the trust vote. Supporters of Singh were seen protesting on the streets. When Bihar minister Shrawan Kumar was asked about the matter, he told PTI, "I am not aware about it, there must have been an issue or something." Meanwhile JD(U) leader Neeraj Kumar said, "We all are united. These are all absurd statements. Sanjeev has made clear that he is and will be the government (JD(U))."

• There is a heavy security deployed outside the home of Tejashwi Yadav, former deputy CM and RJD leader, in Patna.

• RJD shared their response to the police deployment and took a swipe at CM Nitish Kumar as they alleged that Kumar is scared of losing his government in the trust vote and has sent the security forces because, "They want to enter inside the residence on any pretext and do untoward incidents with the MLAs."

  RJD further mentioned in the post on X, "The people of Bihar are watching the misdeeds of Nitish Kumar and the police. Remember, we are not among those who fear and bow down. This is a struggle of ideology and we will fight it and win because the justice-loving people of Bihar will oppose this police repression. Jai Bihar! Jai Hind."

• Nitish Kumar's JD(U) on Sunday exuded confidence that the NDA-backed coalition will win Monday's trust vote. State parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary reportedly said, "We in the NDA have a total strength of 128 MLAs. In the 243-strong assembly, we are comfortably placed. All our MLAs will be present inside the House where a no-confidence motion against the Speaker will precede the trust vote."

• Vijay Kumar Chaudhary called for a JD(U) legislative party meeting and there was absence of some MLAs which he stated was due to unavoidable circumstances for which they had reportedly given prior notice. Chaudhary without giving the exact number of absent members in the meeting, stressed that they would be present for the floor test in the assembly.

• BJP MLAs were sent to a two-day workshop in Bodh Gaya and returned to the state capital on Sunday evening. The party has 78 legislators. According to party sources, a few legislators had missed the workshop, but their identities were not disclosed.

• Congress MLAs were stationed in Telangana for a week amid fears of poaching have returned. The party has 19 MLAs, all of whom have reached the bungalow which was allotted to RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav when he was the Deputy CM.

• The legislators from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and their allies in the 'Mahagathbandhan' were temporarily housed at Tejashwi Yadav’s residence in Patna ahead of the February 12th floor test for the Nitish Kumar government. The legislators had begun arriving at Tejashwi Yadav's residence from Saturday afternoon and later they spent the night together. Tejashwi Yadav and the MLAs were observed singing and socializing around a campfire.

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• According to reports, the ruling Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) shifted its MLAs to the Chanakya Hotel in Patna on Monday morning.

With 128 members backing the BJP-JD(U) alliance, they hold a majority in the 243-member Bihar assembly, surpassing the required 122 seats.

Following JD(U)'s departure, the 'Mahagathbandhan' now has a reduced strength of 114, with the RJD and Congress remaining as part of the opposition coalition.