Patna: On Sunday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar resigned from his position, citing dissatisfaction with the functioning of the grand alliance (GA) government. The 72-year-old leader, set to rejoin the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), is expected to take the oath later in the evening. Kumar handed over his resignation to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at Raj Bhavan, breaking away from the grand alliance formed less than 18 months ago with the support of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
In a statement to the media, Kumar expressed his discontent with the situation, stating, “Things were not moving well. The RJD’s attitude was bothering me, and the situation in the GA government was not good.” Following an informal meeting of Janata Dal (United) leaders at Kumar’s residence on Saturday, the JDU president is anticipated to seek support from the BJP to form a new government.
The grand alliance in Bihar was established after Kumar’s exit from the NDA in August 2022, marking his fourth such political move in the past decade and the second in his current term. Kumar, who played a pivotal role in creating the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), attributed his departure to the slow progress of talks within the INDIA bloc, alleging that the bloc he led to counter the BJP was not performing at its full potential.