nitish kumar
IANS

Nitish Kumar took oath on Thursday morning as the chief minister of a new Bihar government, backed by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Sushil Modi has been sworn in as the deputy chief minister of the state.

Kumar, in a dramatic exit, had resigned from his chief ministerial position on Wednesday, hours after Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad Yadav had ruled out his son and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav's resignation.

Also read: Nitish Kumar returns to BJP: Fall of Bihar grand alliance marks the end of Indian politics 2.0 

Tejashwi was facing a CBI probe in connection with a case for irregularities in tenders for the maintenance of hotels in Ranchi and Puri in 2006.

The I-T department had charged six members of his family, including his daughter Misa Bharti, for 'proxy ownership' of properties worth Rs 1,000 crore.

Kumar had met Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on Wednesday, July 26, staking claim to form government with the BJP support in Bihar.

"We have submitted a letter with support of 132 legislators. We have been given the time of 10 am today for swearing in," Modi told reporters on Thursday.

Kumar's resignation also put an end to his Grand Alliance or mahagathbandhan with Lalu Yadav's RJD and the Congress.

Moments after Kumar resigned, Tejashwi Yadav tweeted on Wednesday night slamming Kumar for advancing his swearing-in ceremony.

Here are the live updates: 

12.46 am IST: Bihar Governor has asked Nitish Kumar to prove his majority in the assembly on July 28.

11.36 am IST: Addressing Nitish Kumar as 'Modi Bhakt' Randeep S Surjewala, Congress spokesperson said, "Conspiratorial treachery & rank political opportunism is the real DNA." 

11.27 am IST: Meanwhile Shashi Tharoor tweeted saying, "BJP was rejected in the election!"

11.23 am IST: Digvijay Singh from Congress also reacted to Nitish Kumar being re-elected as Bihar CM.

 

11.19 am IST: Union Minister Rajnath Singh also congrtulated Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi.

11.11 am IST: "Vicious greed for power of opportunism will spell it's own doom," said Tejashwi Yadav.

11.08 am IST: Development will be a priority, says Sushil Modi.

11.06 am IST: "Vendetta against me exposes their viciousness," says Tejashwi Yadav.

 11.00 am IST: My decision is in Bihar's interest and for its development, says Nitish Yadav.

10.56 am IST: Recent reports say RJD supporters have blocked the Patna-Samastipur main road. Violence has been reported at Saran. Supporters of RJD create commotion at the Bazar Samiti. They have reportedly burnt vehicles in the region.

10.51 am IST: Prime Minister Narendra Modi  tweeted congratulating Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi.

10.48 am IST: RJD MLA Bhai Birendra said that Nitish Kumar is not concerned about the public in Bihar or India.

10.40 am IST: Rahul Gandhi didn't seemed surprised about Nitish Kumar joining hands with NDA and said that he knew about this for the past three to four months.

10.31 am IST: Reports say that RJD party workers across all districts in Bihar have sought to protest across the state. Without citing any reasons, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav asked his supporters to postpone the protests. A congress legislative meet has been scheduled for 2 pm today where Congress leader CP Joshi will also be present.

10.17 am IST: Nitish Kumar returns to office as Bihar chief minister for the sixth time in 12 years. Patna's Raj Bhavan echoed with chants of – "Nitish Kumar Zindabad"

10.14 am IST: Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi sworn in as Chief Minister and Deputy CM of Bihar.

10.03 am IST: Section 144 imposed around Raj Bhavan in Patna and RJD protest march has been cancelled

10.02 am IST: Nitish Kumar's swearing-in ceremony as Bihar CM at Raj Bhawan in Patna

9.52 am IST: Nitish Kumar reaches Raj Bhavan in Patna for the swearing in ceremony.

9.50 am IST: Sushil Modi reaches Raj Bhavan.

9.46 am IST: Trust vote to be held on July 29, reports CNN-News 18.

9.41 am IST: 'Nitish ji's step against corruption is a courageous one', JP Nadda said. 

9.40 am IST: Bihar Governor invites Nitish Kumar to form Government.

9.31 am IST: BJP leader Sushil Modi will be sworn-in as the deputy chief minister of Bihar today. He tweeted about receiving an invitation from Governor.

9.26 am IST: JD(U), BJP have the numbers to prove their majority in the Bihar assembly. In a 243 member assembly, JD(U) and NDA allies will together have about 129 MLAs. On the other hand, RJ (D) has 80 MLAs. Even if it forms alliance with Congress and CPI-ML, the votes will add up to only 110. 

9.19 am IST: Outside Raj Bhavan in Patna: Preparations underway as Nitish Kumar is all set to be sworn in as Bihar CM.

9.14 am IST: Congress MLAs in Bihar will meet in Patna at 2 pm today, reported News 18. Congress leader CP Joshi will be attending the meeting. 

8.53 am IST: Tejashwi to march to governor's house with RJD MLAs, CNN-News18 reported.

8.33 am IST: Former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Bihar.

8.30 am IST: JDU MP Ali Anwar on Thursday told ANI that Nitish Kumar had taken the decision of joining hands with BJP because his 'conscience allowed him'.

8.01 am IST: Latest report says that the Bihar Governor has asked Nitish Kumar to prove his majority in the assembly within two days of taking oath.

7.51 am IST: RJD party offices across all districts in Bihar will hold protest march at 12 pm on Thursday, said RJD leader Ram Chandra Purve.

7.39 am IST: Early on Thursday, RJD supporters marched and blocked the Mahatma Gandhi Setu, which connects North Bihar with Patna, over the resignation of chief minister Nitish Kumar.

7.36 am IST: Tejashwi said that he was an excuse for Nitish Kumar to join hands with BJP. "Tejashwi ek bahaana tha, case, investigation ek bahana tha, inko (Nitish) BJP ke sath jana tha (I was an excuse, the investigation was an excuse. He just wanted to go with BJP)," he told ANI.

7.31 am IST: Tejashwi alleged that Nitish locked up all JDU MLAs in his house.

7.20 am IST: Tejashwi slammed Nitish Kumar for changing loyalty. He said that Nitish had pre-planned the whole thing. 

 

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BJP was rejected in election!