Nitish Kumar wins trust vote amid cries of betrayal

Patna: The political crisis in Bihar finally ended on Friday after the newly-formed Nitish Kumar-led alliance with BJP won the floor test with 131 votes. This was preceded by a dramatic and acrimonious debate during which Mr Kumar defended his decision to return to the NDA fold. “I am in power to serve the people and not to make money out of it and I can’t be of any help to those who have come into politics to make money,” Mr Kumar said in his speech.

Mr Kumar and the BJP needed just 122 votes in the 243-member Assembly to win the trust vote on Friday. Four members of the House could not vote. With the effective strength of 239, Mr Kumar needed only 120 votes to win the floor test. The RJD, which had earlier claimed it had the magic number to form the government, got only 108 votes. The RJD and Congress party created a ruckus and even blocked the entry gate of the state Assembly before the floor test.

“The grand secular alliance collapsed due to RJD’s false ego,” Mr Kumar said, adding, “I asked him (Tejashwi Yadav) to explain his position on the graft allegations against him, but he was not in a position to respond.”

He also said that it was after very long that Bihar and the Centre has the same government and that he would do anything for the development of the state. In the rancourous debate that followed, Tejashwi accusing him of betrayal, said, “Aren’t you ashamed, voters gave a mandate to the grand secular alliance and not to the NDA. It is a murder of democracy and people of the state will never forget the way you (Nitish Kumar) betrayed them. Tejashwi also accused him of using him as a mohra (pawn) to build his own image. “The entire action (of seeking my resignation) was just an excuse so he could go with BJP.” The 131 votes in favour of Nitish Kumar included 70 from the JD(U), 53 from BJP, 2 MLAs each from RLSP and LJP, 1 from Jitan Ram Manjhi’s party HAM and 3 independents. Chief minister Nitish Kumar and deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi did not take part in the voting as both are members of the legislative council.

With Nitish Kumar returning to NDA and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi back as deputy chief minister, hopes are high that the Centre would release pending funds for Bihar, JD(U) leaders said after the trust vote. The RJD–Congress combine had earlier demanded a secret ballot, which was turned down by the Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary. Instead, he opted for the method of lobby division. Mr Yadav, while speaking to reporters outside the Assembly said that the party was gearing up to fight a long battle against communal forces. “Since Nitish Kumar has broken the gathbandhan dharma (alliance rules), we will take the matter to the people’s court,” he said.

In a related development, the Patna high court on Friday admitted two petitions challenging the formation of a new government by Nitish Kumar and the BJP.

RJD sources said one of the petitions was filed by party legislators Saroj Yadav and Chandan Kumar Verma.

They contended that Friday’s floor test was unconstitutional as the mandate in 2015 was given to the grand secular alliance against the BJP.