Nitish Kumar on Tuesday broke ranks with the BJP-led NDA coalition to stake a claim as head of the rival ‘Mahagathbandhan’ (Grand Alliance) to be chief minister of Bihar for the eighth time.
Once seen as a potential rival to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kumar, 71, who submitted his resignation as the chief minister heading the NDA coalition earlier in the day, said he offered a list of 164 MLAs to governor Phagu Chauhan. He will take oath as chief minister at 2 pm at Raj Bhawan in Patna on Wednesday, said the RJD, his new ally.
The effective strength of the state assembly is 242 and the magic figure is 122.
Here are party positions in the Bihar assembly:
Total strength: 243
Effective strength: 242 (1 RJD member disqualified)
Majority: 122
Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan): JD(U) – 46 (45 party MLAs, 1 Independent)
RJD: 79
Congress: 19
CPI(ML): 12
CPI: 02
CPI(M): 02
HAM: 04
Total: 164
BJP: 77
AIMIM: 01
