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Speaker resigns from BJP ahead of test of Nitish Kumar’s strength: 10 facts

August 24, 2022
Bharat Times

The total strength of the Bihar Mahagathbandhan is 163 (File)

Patna:
Nitish Kumar, who ended his alliance with the BJP in Bihar and formed the government with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and other parties earlier this month, is facing the test of his majority today. A few hours before the polling, the CBI raided the places of many RJD leaders.

Here are the top 10 latest updates on Nitish Kumar’s test of majority

  1. The assembly session began with the resignation of BJP MLA Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha from his post. A no-confidence motion was moved against him soon after the “Mahagathbandhan” or Grand Alliance came to power.

  2. Mr Sinha, who had earlier refused to resign citing baseless claims, said he wanted to respond to the motion before stepping down as the allegations against him are “unacceptable”. The state government is believed to have decided to make veteran RJD leader Awadh Bihari Choudhary as the new president.

  3. Hours before the trust vote, the houses of several RJD leaders, Sunil Singh, Subodh Rai, Dr Fayaz Ahmed and Ashfaq Karim were raided by the CBI in connection with the “land for land” scam involving the party chief in Patna. Lalu Yadav’s tenure as the Union Railway Minister in the UPA-1 government.

  4. Responding to the development, RJD MP Manoj Jha said it was predictable and alleged that the raids were carried out at the behest of the BJP. “It is needless to say that it is raid by ED or CBI, it is raid by BJP. Today is floor test and what is happening here? It can be guessed,” he said.

  5. RJD leader and Lalu Yadav’s wife Rabri Devi said that no raid can scare the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ government. “All parties are with us except the BJP. We have a majority in the state and we will not be afraid,” he said.

  6. With 164 MLAs supporting Nitish Kumar’s government in the 243-member Bihar assembly, the test of majority is mostly a formality. The current strength of the assembly is 241 and any party or alliance needs the support of 121 MLAs to get a majority.

  7. The test of majority comes days after Nitish Kumar expanded his cabinet, with the largest share of seats going to alliance partner RJD. Of the 31 ministers in the cabinet, the RJD has 16, followed by Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) with 11.

  8. Two Congress leaders and a leader of Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha have also become ministers. lone independent MLA Sumit Kumar Singh also took oath as a cabinet minister.

  9. The chief minister kept the home portfolio, while his deputy Tejashwi Yadav got key portfolios like health, road construction, urban development, housing and rural development. Tejashwi Yadav’s brother Tej Pratap Yadav has been made the new Environment Minister of Bihar.

  10. Mr Kumar took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the eighth time on 10 August, a day after he parted ways with the BJP. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav became his deputy. Sources said Mr Kumar feared the BJP was plotting to replicate the Maharashtra model – where the Uddhav Thackeray government was revolted by senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, who is now chief minister.