Nitish Kumar left the Oppn stunned by joining friend-turned-foe-turned-friend BJP
Nitish Kumar and Sushil Kumar Modi wave at a gathering after they were sworn-in as Bihar chief minister and Deputy Chief Minister respectively. Pic/PTI
Nitish Kumar once again took over as chief minister of Bihar with BJP's support yesterday, leaving the Opposition's unity in tatters and raising questions over its ability to counter the saffron party in the 2019 general elections.
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A little more than 12 hours after 66-year-old Kumar resigned to break ranks with his allies - Lalu Yadav's RJD party and the Congress - he was back in office after being sworn in by Bihar Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi at the Raj Bhawan.
Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi was also sworn in, and will be the deputy chief minister.
The deft political manoeuvres by Janata Dal (United) chief Kumar left the Opposition stunned as he joined hands with friend-turned-foe-turned-friend BJP. The two parties were in alliance for 17 years until 2013, when Kumar walked out of NDA's fold after Narendra Modi was made the BJP's campaign committee chairman for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Modi was later declared the prime ministerial candidate.
'In the interest of Bihar'
However, Kumar, who was seen by the Opposition as a possible answer to Modi in 2019 amid shrinking Congress clout, seemed to have accepted the popular thinking that the Modi wave would continue even after two years. The governor has asked Kumar to prove his majority on the floor of the House today.
"Whatever decision we have taken will be in the interest of Bihar and of its people. It will ensure development and justice," Kumar told reporters after the swearing in.
"This is a collective decision. I ensure that our commitment is towards the people of Bihar," he said. Immediately after the swearing in, the JD(U) announced that it will support the BJP-led NDA government in both the Houses of Parliament.
The swearing-in capped breathtaking political developments in the state with Kumar quitting his post on Wednesday night following a fallout with the RJD over corruption charges against Lalu Prasad and his family members. Chief among them is Prasad's son, Tejaswi Yadav, who was the deputy chief minister in the outgoing government.
Yadav had refused to step down after the CBI filed corruption charges against him and had also ignored Kumar's advice to explain his conduct. Kumar cited this as the reason to resign and allied with the BJP to become the chief minister for the sixth time.
Case against Lalu
The ED has registered a money-laundering case against RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his family members in a railway hotels allotment corruption case dating back to the UPA's tenure, officials said yesterday.
Dubbing Kumar as an "opportunist," Prasad yesterday accused him of joining hands with the BJP to ensure the CBI and ED raids on RJD leaders and his family members to malign him.
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