Nitish To Resign, BJP To Elect Its Legislature Party Leader Tomorrow

Patna: The final step toward a new National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in Bihar was set as it became clear that chief minister Nitish Kumar will chair his last cabinet meeting on Tuesday and follow it up by submitting his resignation to Governor Lieutenant General (retired) Syed Ata Hasnain. His successor will take the oath on Wednesday.

The cabinet meeting will be held on Ambedkar Jayanti, which is a state government holiday.

Nitish, 75, who resigned as an MLC (Member of Legislative Council) on March 30 and took oath as a Rajya Sabha member on April 10, will attend the cabinet meeting after paying floral tributes to Ambedkar.

The cabinet meeting will take up several important agendas about the state’s development. It is also expected to adopt a resolution to follow Nitish’s vision of inclusive and all-round development of the state, and propose a vote of thanks for his contribution to Bihar’s progress over the past two decades.

Notably, Nitish has already transferred much of his personal belongings from the chief minister’s official residence, 1, Aney Marg to 7, Circular Road bungalow, which has been allotted to him for the past 12 years.

He had stayed there for around nine months between May 2014 and February 2015, when he stepped down from the chief minister’s position and Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, a Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader, was appointed in his place.

As preparations take place for the significant political shift, Union Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is set to arrive in Patna later on Monday as the central observer of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentary board. He will supervise the election of the BJP legislature party leader.

Over 50 Bihar BJP MLAs deployed in West Bengal Assembly elections have been asked to reach Patna by Tuesday morning to attend the legislature party meeting.

Though there is no official communication about the oath ceremony yet, it is expected to be held either at the Lok Bhavan (formerly Raj Bhavan) or Bapu Sabhagar – a massive convention hall with a seating capacity of 5000 people, due to the lack of time for bigger preparations.

“Everything will happen as per the provisions defined in the Constitution. The chief minister will resign. The next chief minister will be of the BJP. The NDA legislature party will hold a meeting and then stake a claim to form the new government. The governor will then invite it to do so,” Bihar parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary told ETV Bharat.

Asked about the new chief minister, Choudhary said: “The BJP has its own way of deciding things, which nobody can predict. To my knowledge, he is yet to be decided.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president Nitin Nabin, a few chief ministers from the BJP-ruled states, as well as several senior leaders, are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony. Nitish’s son Nishant Kumar (primed to become a deputy chief minister) and a few ministers will also take the oath on the occasion.

At present, deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary is the frontrunner among the chief ministerial candidates, but names of several leaders, including minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai, sports minister Shreyasi Singh, Digha MLA Sanjiv Chaurasia, MLC Janak Ram, and others are doing the rounds as contenders.

Meanwhile, hectic parleys are being held by all NDA constituents – BJP, JD(U), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha – about the extent of their participation in the new government.