Nitish takes oath as Bihar CM again, trust vote today
NUMBERS GAME Kumar likely to sail through even as Lalu threatens to move SC
Nitish Kumar, who was sworn in as the Bihar chief minister for the sixth time on Thursday, barely 18 hours after his surprise resignation sank the so-called grand alliance, will seek a trust vote on Friday. Numbers seem to favour Kumar. The JD (U) has 71 MLAs, the BJP 53, other NDA partners five and four independents, together they make up a bloc of 133, 10 more than the majority mark.
But not all in the JD(U) are happy with Kumar’s switch. A couple of senior leaders could find a place in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s team, which is expected to be reshuffled after August 11.
The move would make the “alliance” complete at the Centre and the state, sources said, adding it would also check rumblings within the JD (U).
Friday was to be the first day of Bihar assembly’s monsoon session but now Kumar will have to prove his majority in the House, which will look very different, on the day.
The RJD and Congress MLAs, who occupied treasury benches, will sit in the opposition. The BJP and its allies will be back on treasury benches with the JD(U).
Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, who was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday as the political drama played out in Patna, returned to the Raj Bhawan late in the night and administered the oath of office to Kumar at 10am.
Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi will be Kumar’s deputy and was the only minis
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In fresh trouble for RJD chief Lalu Prasad, the ED has registered a money laundering case against him and his family members in a railway hotels allotment corruption case dating back to the UPA tenure, officials said Thursday.
The case has been registered under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
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