Bihar Floor Test LIVE updates: CM Nitish Kumar wins trust vote amid Opposition walkout
CM Nitish Kumar won the floor test after 129 MLAs supported him.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar passed a floor test in the state Assembly on Monday, two weeks after forming a government with support of NDA. He won the floor test after 129 MLAs supported him. The Opposition walked out ahead of the floor test. Kumar recently took oath as CM for the record ninth time after ditching its alliance with the RJD and forming a government with BJP.
Earlier this month, Nitish, who had reportedly gone into a sulk after not being named the convenor of INDIA, the Opposition bloc that took shape through his efforts, dumped the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) in Bihar and the national coalition to form a new government with the support of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Putting to rest frenzied speculations around his future and that of the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, Nitish resigned as chief minister on January 28, his second volte face in less than 18 months. Snapping ties with the RJD and Congress, the JD(U) supremo formed the government with the support of the BJP and its partners in the NDA.
The JD(U) has 45 MLAs in the House of 243 while its partners, the BJP and the Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S), have 79 and 4 sitting legislators respectively. With the support of another Independent MLA, the NDA has 128 MLAs in the House against 115 of the Mahagathbandhan.To go past the majority mark in the House, the ruling alliance needs 122 votes.
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Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's govt wins floor test after 129 MLAs support resolution
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's government wins floor test after 129 MLAs support him.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar addresses the State Assembly ahead of the Floor Test
Tejashwi Yadav targets Nitish in Assembly
"The people of Bihar want to know why you keep switching camps," Tejashwi Yadav targeted Nitish Kumar in the Bihar Assembly.
Former Bihar Deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav says, "I feel bad for JDU MLAs because they will have to go among the public and answer. If someone asks you why Nitish Kumar took oath 3 times, what will you say? Earlier you used to criticise them (BJP) and now you are praising them, what will you say? We (RJD) will say that we have given jobs."
No-confidence motion against Bihar Assembly Speaker and RJD leader Awadh Bihari Choudhary passed in the State Assembly.
125 members voted in favour of the resolution; 112 against.
Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav arrives at the state Assembly in Patna.
Former Bihar CM and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) leader Jitan Ram Manjh also reached Bihar Assembly.
Bihar Assembly Speaker and RJD leader Awadh Bihari Choudhary arrives at the Bihar Assembly in Patna, ahead of the floor test of the NDA government led by CM Nitish Kumar.
RJD MLA Bhai Virendra says, "Yes, we have (majority mark). I have all the numbers...We will be ahead in the floor test..."
Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal United (JDU) exuded confidence that the party's president will win the trust vote during the crucial floor test scheduled on Monday, two weeks after he ditched its alliance with the RJD and formed a government with the BJP. The trust vote will follow after Nitish took the oath as the chief minister of Bihar for the record ninth time.JD(U) national secretary Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said, "Under the leadership of CM Nitish Kumar, we will get the majority and the government will complete its tenure."
On the police deployment outside Tejashwi's residence, RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav told ANI, "This has never happened (earlier) in any state in independent India. It's a legislative meeting (underway at Tejashwi's residence). Agar BJP kare (meeting) to 'raasleela' agar RJD kare toh 'character dheela (if BJP holds a similar meeting its deemed fine, but when the RJD goes into a huddle, they are frowned upon)."
A heavy security cordon was thrown around the residence of the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, in Patna, a day before the crucial floor test of the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government in the state.
Amid huddles and shifting of MLAs to secure locations in the state or beyond ahead of the crucial trust vote, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) alleged that the police personnel "wanted to enter (Tejashwi's) residence on any pretext and orchestrate untoward incidents against party MLAs".