Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar resigns, set to align with BJP

Dealing a major blow to India's nascent opposition alliance Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) ahead of the national elections due in a few months, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today resigned and is all set to align with BJP.

Kumar, chief of regional outfit Janata Dal (United) which rules Bihar in alliance with Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress, submitted his resignation to Governor Rajendra V Arlekar this morning, our New Delhi correspondent reports.

"Today, I have resigned from the post of chief minister and I have also asked the governor to dissolve the government in the state...," Kumar, who was one of the prime movers of INDIA in the run up to its formation seven months ago, told reporters outside the Raj Bhavan in Patna, capital city of Bihar.

"I will leave the earlier alliance (INDIA) as things were not working well there and form a new alliance," said Kumar after resigning.

The governor accepted Kumar's resignation and asked him to continue as caretaker chief minister till a new government is formed, they said.

A new government with the support of BJP is likely to be in place by this evening, according to party sources.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi promptly spoke to Nitish Kumar and congratulated him on the move.

INDIA was a 28-party opposition bloc including Congress, Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, RJD, Left parties, Samajwadi Party and a slew of other small regional parties to take on Modi-led BJP in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

In the Bihar legislature assembly of 243 members, RJD has a strength of 79 followed by BJP (78), Janata Dal (U) 45, Congress 19 among others.

This is the second time Nitish Kumar changed his alliance partner in Bihar in his current term as chief minister. Less than one and half years ago, he had tied up with RJD to become chief minister even though his party did not have majority after parting ways with BJP. Now he is back in the fold of the BJP-led alliance.

In both the instances in the past, Kumar's party JD (U) lacked majority in the legislature where RJD is the largest party followed by BJP. Now that he is going to be chief minister again, he will head the state government with the same legislative arithmetic.