Nitish Kumar to be sworn-in as Bihar CM on February 22

Bihar Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi has invited JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar to form the next government in the state. Nitish will take oath as the Chief Minister on February 22. Earlier, Jitan Ram Manjhi had resigned ahead of the trust vote, paving the way for Nitish Kumar.

“Governor Tripathi has invited Nitish Kumar to form the next government after he met him at Raj Bhavan and formally staked claim,” Janata Dal-United spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said.

Manjhi claimed he as well as some legislators supporting him had received threats to their lives. Nitish Kumar has earlier publicly apologised to the people for his “mistake” for having resigned as chief minister last year.

“I admit that I made a mistake by resigning as chief minister. I publicly apologise for it to the people of Bihar. Please forgive me, as I will not repeat my mistake,” Nitish Kumar said at a press conference here. He tried to do an Arvind Kejriwal. But, it would be interesting whether people of Bihar will forgive him or not.

Nitish Kumar saying sorry was akin to Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal’s apology for resigning as the Delhi chief minister after 49 days in power last year. The AAP made a stunning comeback in the national capital, winning 67 of the 70 assembly seats.

Nitish Kumar apologised twice during his half-an-hour address to the media here. He made it clear that he will not take any such emotional decision in the future.

Nitish Kumar said he will work in the same manner in which he had worked during his last eight and a half years as chief minister. “For me, governance and only governance will be the priority,” he said.

Nitish Kumar said the Bharatiya Janata Party’s game plan has failed. “The BJP tried to split the JD-U but failed and Manjhi fled the field,” he said. The former chief minister said the BJP wrote the script for the current political situation in his state. “The BJP supported Manjhi.” “But Manjhi resigned after he failed to get adequate numbers to prove his majority in the assembly,” he said.

Manjhi was picked by the former chief minister as his replacement when he quit last year after the JD-U’s rout in the Lok Sabha polls. In the 243-member assembly, the JD-U has 115 legislators – most of whom are with Nitish Kumar. The party has the support of 24 Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) legislators, five Congress legislators, two independents and a Communist Party of India legislator. The BJP has 88 legislators and is supported by three Independents. 10 seats are vacant. (IANS)