Nitish Kumar wins trust vote in Bihar assembly, RJD cries betrayal of people

JD(U)-BJP proved the majority in the House with 131 votes in favour as against 108 for the Opposition.

JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar had already sworn in as the CM of the state on Thursday after he severed his alliance with the RJD-Congress over corruption issue and forged a tie with BJP.

Supporting his ties with the BJP, the Bihar CM in the Assembly on Friday said: "Cannot indulge corruption in the name of secularism."

The political crisis in Bihar occurred after JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar stepped down as the CM of the state on Wednesday. Kumar, who severed his ties with RJD over corruption issue, formed the new government with the support of the BJP on Thursday.

Along with Nitish, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state on Thursday morning.

The rift between Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad of RJD had reached a flashpoint over corruption issue when deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav and his father Lalu Prasad had ruled out resignation of his son over a CBI probe arguing that a fake case was filed against him.

After JD(U)-BJP alliance won the trust vote in the Bihar Assembly on Friday, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar insulted the people of the state as they voted against the saffron party in 2015.

Referring to Nitish Kumar's jump to a new boat, Tejashwi, who was the Deputy CM of the state, said: "People of Bihar wanted peace, development so they voted the grand alliance formed by JD(U), RJD and Congress in 2015."

"People of the state gave Nitish ji (Nitish Kumar) an opportunity and we all trusted him but now feeling insulted," the former Dy CM added.

In 2015, the grand alliance comprising of Nitish-led JD(U), Lalu-led RJD and Congress was voted to power in the Bihar Assembly.

However, Tejashwi did not endorse the corruption issue as the reason behind Nitish's choice of a different ally partner. "It was all drama. Tejashwi (corruption issue) was an excuse but he (Nitish Kumar) was keen to go with the BJP."

Lalu's scion even took on Governor of the state, Keshari Nath Tripathy, once again for not inviting the RJD to form the government being the single largest party in the Bihar Assembly.

Lalu-led RJD emerged as the largest party in the Assembly election 2015 with 80 seats under their belt.

While JD(U) has 71 seats, BJP is in possession of 53.

Image: Official Facebook page of Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad and official Twitter handle of Sushil Kumar Modi.