Bihar floor test: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his newly formed alliance with the NDA is set to seek a trust vote in the state assembly today i.e. on 12 February. Amid the huddles and the anxious wait ahead of the trust vote, the ruling Janata Dal (United), which faces its first big test on the floor of the Assembly after its return to the BJP-led NDA, shifted its MLAs to a hotel near the legislature.
Here are 10 points you need to know
1. The floor test comes as last month, Kumar took the oath as Bihar CM for the record ninth time after dumping the opposition’s INDIA bloc and rejoining the NDA-BJP alliance In a video clip accessed by news agency ANI, the JD(U) MLAs were seen making their way to the Chanakya Hotel in Patna.
2. The new state government is led by the coalition of Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAMS).
3. Putting to rest frenzied speculations around his future and that of the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, Nitish resigned as chief minister on January 28, his second volte face in less than 18 months.
4. Citing the state of affairs in the grand alliance as ‘not right’, Nitish told reporters that he had been receiving suggestions from his supporters and well-wishers, including his party workers, and set his next political course after taking all the advice that came his way into consideration.
5. Amid the suspense around the crucial floor test, three JD(U) MLAs again skipped the crucial meeting of legislators convened in Patna on Sunday evening.
6. Ahead of the trust vote, JD(U) has issued a three-line whip to all of its MLAs to be present during the floor test. Besides, former Bihar chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) founder, Jitan Ram Manjhi has also issued a whip to its four MLAs instructing them to vote in favour of the NDA government on 12 February’s trust vote in Bihar Vidhan Sabha.
7. Speaker of the Bihar Assembly Awadh Bihari Chaudhary declared he will not step down before to the start of the budget session on February 12, despite the newly established NDA government having filed a no-confidence resolution against him. But in light of the motion of no confidence, Deputy Speaker Maheshwar Hazari, a member of the chief minister’s JD(U), declared that Chaudhary would not be permitted to preside over House proceedings.
8. The JD(U) has 45 MLAs in the House of 243 while its partners, the BJP and the Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S), have 79 and 4 sitting legislators respectively. With the support of another Independent MLA, the NDA has 128 MLAs in the House against 115 of the Mahagathbandhan.
9. To go past the majority mark in the House, the ruling alliance needs 122 votes.
10. There are a total of 128 MLAs are part of the JDU-NDA alliance as of now. These include MLAs from the JD(U), the BJP and the HAM(S). One among them is an Independent MLA. With 128 MLAs in support, Nitish Kumar’s government comfortably crosses the majority mark. So, if all these MLAs continue to support the Nitish Kumar’s government, then the CM will comfortably win the trust vote.
(With inputs from ANI)
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Published: 12 Feb 2024, 06:28 AM IST
