CM, Not CM, CM Again: An Eventful Sunday in Bihar as Nitish Kumar Returns to NDA

Nitish Kumar exited the 'Mahagathbandhan' and formed the government with the BJP, with the backing of 128 MLAs.

(Photo: PTI)

Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar on Sunday, 28 January, took oath as the chief minister of Bihar for the ninth time, hours after he resigned from the post breaking his ties with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and returning to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

In his second volte-face in the last two years, 72-year-old Kumar met with BJP leaders after submitting his resignation to the Governor of Bihar Rajendra Arlekar in Patna. Kumar then staked a claim to form the government with the BJP, with the backing of 128 MLAs.

The JD(U) claimed "issues" in the Mahagathbandhan government with the RJD which prompted Kumar to resign as CM. The party also attacked the Congress for "trying to steal the leadership" in the Opposition INDIA bloc, which the party has now quit.

Here's all that happened on Sunday:

'I Had Issues...': What Nitish Kumar Said on Resignation

Speaking to the media shortly after submitting his resignation to the Governor, Nitish Kumar said: "I have resigned as the CM and have given a letter to the Governor to dissolve government. There were suggestions from all leaders to resign. I had issues, that's why I resigned."

"I had left the previous alliance and made a new one, but I saw that the situation here was not good. So, the suggestion [to step down] was coming from all sides."

Nitish Kumar,

Stating that he has also quit the Opposition INDIA bloc, Kumar said, "We were working on an alliance (INDIA) for the last 1.5 years but things were not working out. Now, we will form a new alliance."

Addressing the media after the ceremony, Kumar said that he was "always with the NDA but just moved away for a while."

"Eight ministers have taken oath along with me. Rest will follow," said Kumar while talking of cabinet formation, adding that "Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha will be the deputy chief ministers."

Reacting to Tejashwi Yadav's jibes, he said: "We are doing development work for Bihar. We will keep at it," he added.

'Congress is to Blame...': Why Nitish Quit

Speaking to the media, JD(U) leader KC Tyagi said that issues within the INDIA bloc and the Mahagathbandhan government with the RJD in Bihar forced Nitish to quit the CM post and return to the NDA.

"There were issues with the RJD locally, but the INDIA alliance will fall due to the Congress's adamant attitude. They will not be able to ally with the AAP and TMC, and they will face issues in Maharashtra. After the meeting in Patna, they vanished for four months. The same happened after the Mumbai and Bengaluru meetings," Tyagi alleged.

Nitish Kumar handed over his resignation to Governor Rajendra Arlekar at Raj Bhavan in Patna on Sunday, 28 January.

(Photo: The Quint)

He claimed that the alliance "floated Kharge's name for PM with the support of Mamata and Kejriwal, despite having decided that there will be no PM face."

Tyagi further alleged that the "Congress is only aiming to strengthen itself and not the INDIA bloc."

"The Congress wanted to steal the leadership of the INDIA alliance. Earlier, in the meeting that took place in Mumbai, it was unanimously decided that without any PM face, INDIA alliance will work but through a conspiracy, Mamata Banerjee was made to propose Kharge's name as PM face. All other parties have made their own identity by fighting against Congress. The Congress kept delaying the seat-sharing process, we kept saying that seat-sharing needs to happen immediately. INDIA lacked plans to fight against the BJP."

KC Tyagi

'Knew This Would Happen': What Mallikarjun Kharge, INDIA Bloc Parties Said

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that he "knew this would happen."

"There are many people in the country like 'Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram' (they come and they go). When I talked to Lalu ji (RJD president) and Tejashwi, they also said that Nitish was going to leave. If he wanted to stay, he would have stayed but if he wants to go, and nobody can stop him. To keep the INDIA alliance intact... if we say something wrong, the wrong message will be sent."

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge addresses the workers conference, in Dehradun, Sunday, 28 January, 2024.

(Photo: PTI)

Congress general secretary and communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh said that with Kumar's exit, "the future of the country is at stake, but the future of the INDIA bloc is not."

He added that his resignation "will further upset the people of Bihar and they will teach the right lesson to Nitish Kumar and the BJP in the election.

"I agree that this will be in the headlines for a day or two, it doesn't look good that Nitish Kumar had called the first meeting (of INDIA bloc) in Patna. He attended all meetings. But like I said, Nitish Kumar gives a tough competition to chameleons," Ramesh said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said: "There is Ram in Ayodhya and Paltu Ram in Bihar. The BJP and Amit Shah himself had called Nitish Paltu Ram when he had joined hands with Lalu. Shah had said that BJP's doors are closed for Nitish Kumar. What happened to that? The people in the BJP are the bigger Paltu Ram."

Read all reactions of Opposition leaders here:

'JD(U) Will Be Over': How Former Ally RJD Reacted

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav took a jibe at Nitish Kumar calling him a 'thaka hua' (weak) CM.

Former Bihar DCM and RJD leaderTejashwi Yadav speaks to PTI on Nitish Kumars resignation as CM, in Patna, Sunday, 28 January, 2024.

(Photo: PTI)

"People said that he (Nitish) did not work. We made him work. People called him a 'thaka hua' CM. He doesn't understand what he is talking. There is no anger or disappointment in the RJD. We worked well in the Mahagathbandhan. I just want to say that the game is still on. I do as I promise. I wil not make personal comments but the JD(U) will be finished in 2024. Whatever they do, the people are with us," he told news agency ANI.

Read detailed reactions from RJD leaders here:

'I Solemnly Swear...': Who Took Oath With Nitish

With Nitish Kumar as the CM, the new NDA government was sworn in at 5:00 pm on Sunday, with BJP leaders Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha taking oath as the deputy chief ministers.

Along with Chaudhary and Sinha, six other leaders who took oath as cabinet ministers include Prem Kumar (BJP), Bijendra Prasad Yadav (JD(U)), Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (JD(U)), Sharavan Kumar (JD(U)), Sumit Singh (Independent), and Santosh Suman (HAM).

One Firebrand Leader, One Seasoned Politician: Who Are the New Dy CMs

BJP leaders Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Sinha have been chosen to be the Deputy CMs in the newly formed government. Chaudharywas elected as the Leader of the BJP Legislative Party, and Sinha the Deputy Leader.

Bihar BJP President Samrat Choudhary with party leader Vijay Kumar Sinha during BJP legislative party meeting at the party office, in Patna, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024.

(Photo: PTI)

"This is an emotional moment for me to have been elected as the Leader of the Legislative Party. The mandate that we received in 2020 for the development of Bihar and to end the terror of Lalu Yadav. When the BJP received the proposal from Nitish Kumar to ensure that there is no 'jungle raj' in Bihar, we decided to support it," Chaudhary said while addressing the media in Patna on Sunday.

Read their full profiles here:

'We Are Happy': What PM Modi, BJP Said on Nitish's Return

Taking to X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted: "The NDA government formed in Bihar will leave no stone unturned for the development of the state and to fulfill the aspirations of its people. I congratulate Nitish ji as Chief Minister and Samrat Chaudhary ji and Vijay Sinha ji on taking oath as Deputy Chief Ministers. I am confident that this team will serve my family members of the state with full dedication."

Former Bihar Deputy CM and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said he was happy that Kumar was returning to the NDA.

"We knew that the RJD-JDU alliance was an unnatural alliance and would not last long. We are happy, and now the JD(U) and BJP will together form the government," he said, as per ANI.

Speaking to the media, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said that "if the main man [Nitish Kumar] behind this alliance says so, then there is no future [for the INDIA bloc]. There is no vacancy for the Prime Ministerial post."

He added that the "BJP will have a historic win in Lok Sabha polls, and in Bihar, we will win all 40 seats."