‘Gathbandhan Mein Gadbad’: Nitish Kumar Switches Sides Again, Likely To Be Sworn In As CM For 9th Time Today

Patna: Nitish Kumar has switched sides for the fourth time in just over a decade. He has resigned as Bihar Chief Minister, dumped the Mahagathbandhan with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress, and is likely to take oath as the new Chief Minister around 5 pm on Sunday for record 9th time while marking his return to the NDA.

After meeting the governor, he said, “Today, I resigned as the Chief Minister and I have also told the Governor to dissolve the government in the state. This situation came because not everything was alright… The new Grand Alliance that we created (in August 2022) is not in a good condition.”

He further hinted at forming a new government under a new alliance with the BJP if “the old parties of the previous coalition come to a final decision today.” All BJP MLAs in Bihar have already given letters of support to Nitish Kumar and he is likely to get two Deputy Chief Ministers – Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Sinha – from the saffron party, NDTV reported quoting sources.

BJP President JP Nadda along with few other BJP leaders will also reach Patna by special charter flight at 3 pm, the report further added.

Reacting to the development, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, “We already knew that Nitish Kumar was going to leave. Lalu Yadav and Tejashwi had already told me. Today it proved to be true.”

Notably, Nitish Kumar has been switching sides since 2013 over ideological disputes. With today’s resignation, he has ended his 18-month ruling alliance with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress.