Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday, February 12, won the trust vote with the support of 129 MLAs. He had moved a motion before the state assembly, seeking confidence in the new government he has formed with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Kumar, who heads the Janata Dal United, moved the motion soon after the House passed a proposal for the removal of Rashtriya Janata Dal's Awadh Bihari Chaudhary as Speaker of the Assembly.
Chaudhary, who had refused to step down despite his party losing power a fortnight ago, was removed with 125 members of the 243-strong assembly voting in favour of the no-confidence motion moved against him by the ruling NDA. Only 112 members voted against the motion.
Earlier, Deputy Speaker Maheshwar Hazari, who was in the Chair, had sought to declare the no-confidence motion as passed through voice vote, but agreed to a headcount following vociferous protests from the RJD. A new Speaker is likely to be elected by the House after the completion of the government's trust vote.
Former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav said he always considered Nitish Kumar to be a father figure, and wondered what forced him to ditch the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ and return to the BJP-led NDA. Taunting his ex-boss for having been sworn in "for a record ninth time, and also for the third time within a five-year term, something which has no precedent".
Nitish took oath as the chief minister of Bihar for a record ninth time on January 28 after a dramatic volte-face, ditching the 'Mahagathbandhan' and the opposition bloc INDIA and forming a new government with the BJP, which he had dumped less than 18 months ago.
First Published: Feb 12, 2024 4:06 PM IST
