Last Update: January 12, 2023, 10:56 IST
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (left) with Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav. (File Photo/PTI)
The Congress has 19 MLAs in the 243-member assembly. RJD, with 79 MLAs, is the single largest party, while JD(U) has 45 MLAs.
Chief minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar categorically ruled out the possibility of appointing any deputy other than Tejashwi Yadav, ending speculation that a top leader of his JD(U) was being considered for the job.
However, fresh faces from allies RJD and Congress could be inducted in the Council of Ministers, he told reporters during his visit to Madhubani on Wednesday as part of his ‘Samadhan Yatra’.
“We are a coalition of seven parties and each constituent has a certain share. Those ministers who have quit may be adjusted accordingly. We may have some more from the Congress,” Kumar said.
Two ministers from the RJD quota – Sudhakar Singh and Kartik Kumar had resigned within a few months of the formation of the Grand Alliance government in August last year. Besides, the Congress, which has been given two berths, is demanding representation commensurate with its numbers in the assembly.
The Congress has 19 MLAs in the 243-member assembly. RJD, with 79 MLAs, is the single largest party, while JD(U) has 45 MLAs.
Without naming Upendra Kushwaha, who heads the JD(U) parliamentary board, Kumar said, “I am surprised to hear this talk about having another deputy CM. This is nonsense. Due to pressure (from BJP), I was forced to have more than one deputy CM. I don’t need to repeat that I didn’t even want to be the chief minister then.”
After the 2020 assembly elections, the BJP removed Kumar’s trusted friend Sushil Kumar Modi as Deputy Chief Minister and supported two less hardline leaders, Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi, for the post of Deputy Chief Minister.
There has been speculation recently in a section of the media that former Union minister Kushwaha, who returned to the JD(U) two years ago and merged his Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, may be the Deputy Chief Minister to cut can be made. Aakar Tejashwi Yadav who is from RJD.
Kumar has given ample indications that he wants to hand over the reins to Yadav, son of his rival-turned-ally RJD supremo Lalu Prasad. He is also indicating that he intends to devote his energies to uniting the opposition against the BJP ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)