Bihar Assembly: Nitish Kumar Wins Floor Test, 131 Legislator Vote For Him
TNN Bureau. Updated: 7/28/2017 1:35:45 PM
National
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today won the confidence motion in the Bihar Assembly to prove the majority of his new government. 131 legislators voted in favour of his government and 108 against, comfortably crossing 122 votes to win the trust vote.
The JD(U) chief was sworn in as chief minister on Thursday, just one day after he resigned as chief minister, called off the "grand alliance" of his party, the JD(U) with the Congress and the RJD, and allied his party with the BJP. The JD(U) chief resigned as chief minister after RJD chief Lalu Prasad said his son Tejashwi Yadav would not step down as deputy chief minister despite the alleged corruption charges against him.
Tejashwi Yadav spoke first on the confidence motion, slamming Nitish Kumar for dumping the Grand Alliance and joining hands with former ally, the BJP. "The mandate to the mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) was of the people. Today the BJP and Nitish Kumar have insulted the mandate," Tejashwi Yadav said after Nitish Kumar said after the trust vote. He had spoken first on the confidence motion, slamming Nitish Kumar for dumping the Grand Alliance and joining hands with former ally, the BJP.
The JD(U)'s 71 MLAs and the BJP's 53, gave the alliance a support of 124 legislators in the 243-member assembly. They also had the support of seven others, bringing the total to 131 legislators.
Former coalition partners, the RJD and the Congress, had 80 and 27 lawmakers on their side.
The RJD has appealed the Bihar governor’s invitation to JDU and NDA to form the government and Nitish Kumar's appointment as chief minister.
It has also called for a "conscience vote," a secret ballot in which legislators are not bound to vote for their party.