Nitish Kumar resigns as Bihar CM, set to form govt with BJP

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar resigned from his post on Sunday, bringing the Mahagathbandhan government to an end. He is expected to form a new government in alliance with the BJP, and is expected to be sworn in later in the day.

On Sunday morning, Nitish went to Raj Bhavan in Patna, along with senior minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav, to hand over his resignation to Governor Rajendra V Arlekar. The Governor accepted his resignation and asked him to stay on as interim CM until a new government is formed.

Earlier, the JD(U) had called a meeting of its legislators in which he was chosen the party’s Legislature Party leader.

“I have resigned as CM today and have asked the Governor to put an end to this government. Party leaders had been giving me advice, and having heard that advice, I decided to resign. The situation was not good, so we have broken ties… I was doing a lot of work. I was trying to form an alliance (the Opposition’s INDIA bloc), but nothing was being done on it. So, I decided (to resign). Stay here. Other people will come today. Listen to them. You will know what happens,” Nitish told reporters outside Raj Bhavan.

He stressed that things were not going well in Bihar, and also in the broader INDIA bloc.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Nitish to congratulate him after his resignation.

Nitish, whose JD(U) was in government with the RJD and the Congress, is expected to join hands with the BJP to form a new government in Bihar. Sources said the new government would be sworn in later on Sunday, at around 4 pm.