Patna: Nitish Kumar resigned as Bihar Chief Minister on Sunday. He reached the Governor’s office and tendered his resignation, stating that ‘We have decided to sever ties with the Mahagathbandhan in the state.’ After tendering his resignation, he stated that the reason behind this major decision was that ‘everything was not alright’ in the Mahagathbandhan. “Today, I have resigned as the Chief Minister and I have also told the Governor to dissolve the government in the state. This situation came because not everything was alright…I was getting views from everyone. I listened to all of them. Today, the Government has been dissolved..,” ANI quoted Kumar as saying.
#WATCH | Patna | Bihar outgoing CM and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar says, “Today, I have resigned as the Chief Minister and I have also told the Governor to dissolve the government in the state. This situation came because not everything was alright…I was getting views from… pic.twitter.com/wOVGFJSKKH
— ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2024
The Janata Dal (United) supremo reached the Governor’s office and tendered his resignation at around 11 am. Earlier, he held a meeting with MLAs from his party at his official residence.
“The alliance, which was formed one and a half years ago, was sailing through choppy waters. Though we came together on the basis of a common minimum programme and promises to the people, we failed to live up to expectations and discharge our salient duties. Eventually, we fell out and even stopped being on speaking terms. I was left with no option but to sever all ties with the alliance,” Kumar said, targeting RJD.
Bihar Raj Bhavan’s official handle posted on X that the Governor asked Nitish to discharge his administrative duties as the acting chief minister till a new government takes shape.
“Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar accepted the resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and asked him to act as acting Chief Minister until alternative arrangements are made,” the Governor’s office at Raj Bhawan posted on X.
Reacting to the political turmoil in the state, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote on X that Kumar is giving tough competition to chameleons. “Nitish Kumar is giving a tough competition to chameleons when it comes to changing his political stripes and partners. The people will not forgive this betrayal and those who took them for a ride. It’s quite evident that the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and the BJP are scared of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and this political drama was enacted to shift public attention away from it.”
The major political development in Bihar comes amid a rumours that Kumar would rejoin the BJP and end the Mahagathbanthan regime in the state.
The dynamic political developments in the state were set in motion by a social media post from Rohini Acharya, the daughter of former CM and RJD chief Lalu Yadav. In her post, she criticized the JD(U), asserting that despite styling itself as a ‘socialist party’ and claiming to be progressive, its ideology tends to sway with the changing wind patterns.
If Nitish crosses over, it would mark the fourth time that he would be switching sides.