Headlines
Bihar CM wins trust vote, BJP walks out
Patna, March 11
Bihar Chief Minister on
Wednesday proved his majority in the state assembly, while the
opposition BJP walked out of the house during the confidence vote.
Nearly
a dozen rebel Janata Dal-United legislators, considered close to former
chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, voted in support of Nitish Kumar.
Manjhi was not present in the assembly during the vote, citing ill
health.
Apparently convinced that the JD-U government has
adequate support to win the trust vote, the opposition Bharatiya Janata
Dal members walked out of the house. The BJP also accused Nitish Kumar
of insulting Mahadalit leader Manjhi by removing him from the chief
minister's post.
"There is no need to waste time to listen to
reply of chief minister. We are walking out of the state assembly,"
Leader of Opposition Nandkishore Yadav said in the assembly.
Soon
after Governor K.N. Tripathi concluded his address to the joint sitting
of the state legislature, Nitish Kumar moved to seek trust vote. He
sailed through with 140 votes in his favour and zero against.
In
the 243-member assembly, the JD-U has 115 legislators. The party has the
support of 24 Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) legislators, five of the
Congress, two Independents and a CPI member. The BJP has 88 legislators
and is supported by three Independents.
Earlier, the JD-U's
allies RJD and the Congress issued whips to their legislators to support
Nitish Kumar during the confidence vote. The JD-U also issued similar
whip to its assembly members.
Besides, the JD-U was supported by the Communist Party of India.
JD-U
chief whip Sharavan Kumar, who is also the parliamentary affairs
minister, said the whip was also applicable to the JD-U rebels led by
Manjhi.
"Any legislator, including Manjhi and rebel party
legislators, found voting against the whip will lose membership of the
state assembly," Sharavan said.
Nitish Kumar last year resigned
as chief minister after the JD-U's rout in the Lok Sabha polls. Manjhi,
who was made chief minister in May 2014, resigned on February 20 after a
political crisis.