Nitish Kumar Returns To NDA Bloc For The Fourth Time As Chief Minister Of JDU-BJP Alliance In Bihar

Nitish Kumar has taken the the oath as the Chief Minister of the JDU-BJP alliance. He has taken oath for the 9th time as the Chief Minister of Bihar.

This is the fourth time Kumar has returned to the NDA bloc. BJP's Samrat Choudhry and Vijay Kumar Sinha have taken oath as the deputy chief ministers of Bihar.

Earlier in the day Nitish Kumar handed over his resignation to Governor Rajendra Arlekar on Sunday as Chief Minister of the JDU-RJD alliance.

Kumar had met Janata Dal (United) MLAs and leaders of the party at his residence in Patna in the morning, according to ANI, following which he reached the Raj Bhavan to meet Arlekar. 

"I have tendered my resignation from my position as Bihar's chief minister and have decided to dissolve the government," Kumar said in a media interaction following his resignation. "The reason behind this decision is that the situation was not good in this alliance."

"There was a fight for credit for the government's good work. I was working hard, but on the other hand, the others were not working at all," he said.

Kumar's resignation comes amid speculation of the JDU chief's exit from the 28-party INDIA bloc and forming a coalition with the BJP.

Sources have also told NDTV that Kumar is likely to sack Rashtriya Janata Dal Ministers and replace them with BJP faces.

The BJP and JDU have recently concluded a seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Lok Sabha election, scheduled to take place in three months. Sources have told NDTV that all Bihar BJP MLAs have already submitted letters expressing their support for Kumar.

BJP MLAs and MPs convened a meeting at 10 am at the party office in Patna earlier to discuss and plan their strategy regarding the current political scenario in Bihar.

BJP President JP Nadda and several other party leaders are expected to arrive in Patna via a special charter flight at 3 pm, according to NDTV.