Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who, following days of simmering tensions, finally ended his party Janata Dal (United)'s alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and formed a government with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and other parties earlier this month, has proved his majority in the state Assembly today with the 'Mahagathbandhan' comfortably winning the motion of confidence by voice vote amid a walkout by BJP MLAs.
Deputy Speaker Maheshwar Hazari ordered a headcount upon a request by Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, the parliamentary affairs minister, who said that though a voice vote had clearly showed support of the majority, the count would “leave no room for any confusion”.
Taking to the floor following the trust vote, Nitish implored the audience to look past the 2020 elections when BJP made major gains in the state and said, "Don't just talk about 2020 assembly polls; recall elections of past when JD(U) won more seats than BJP".
In his speech that lasted for about half an hour, Nitish made indirect references to rebellion by LJP’s Chirag Paswan, allegedly at BJP’s behest, and attempts to cause a split in JD(U) through his former protege RCP Singh. The CM asserted that he had "no personal ambitions", rejecting the BJP’s charge that his latest volte face was aimed at becoming the prime ministerial candidate of the opposition camp.
He also accused the party of relying on publicity to run the government and spoke of the seeming reasons for his decision to split from the NDA. "My request for central status to Patna University was not accepted," he said. The JD(U) chief also insinuated that the sidelining of senior BJP leaders had always been a cause for concern for Nitish. "Leaders like (Atal Behari) Vajpayee, LK Advani treated me with respect; snapped ties with BJP in 2013 in protest against them being sidelined," Nitish said.
The JD(U) and BJP have been in an on-again-off-again alliance for years with the former NDA ally JD(U) snapping ties with the BJP in 2013 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi emerged as the main face of the party.
After parting ways with BJP yet again, Nitish has now entered into a Grand Alliance with the Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD)-led bloc which also comprises of Congress and Left parties. All of these parties had openly extended support to Nitish long before he made it public that he is splitting with the BJP.
Mounting his attack on the BJP, Kumar went further on Wednesday to add that "Their (BJP's) only task is to create disturbances in society". Nitish also accused the BJP of clamping down on the freedom of press. "Even the press is not being allowed to stay independent; we must fight together to make a difference".
The BJP, which was previously part of the ruling NDA coalition in Bihar, has now been stripped of power and politically isolated in the state, even as it tries to hold its own against the mighty seven-party ruling 'Mahagathbandhan'.
The party has hit out at Nitish on Wednesday, accusing him of having lost "political credibility". His former deputy and senior BJP leader Tarkishore Prasad mocked Kumar’s "personal ambition to become the prime minister despite not having the ability to become the chief minister on his own steam".
(With inputs from PTI)
