Bihar Floor Test: CM Nitish Kumar to Seek Trust Vote with NDA Alliance Today

Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) and the BJP alliance in Bihar will face a trust vote in the state assembly today. This follows his recent decision to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and his subsequent swearing-in for a ninth term as Chief Minister.

The Budget session of the Assembly is set to begin with Governor R V Arlekar’s address to both Houses of the legislature. Following this, the Assembly will tackle the no-confidence motion against Speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary, a member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Despite mounting pressure from the BJP and the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)), Choudhary has remained firm in his refusal to step down, although there are indications that he may resign before the motion is introduced. The RJD has challenged Nitish Kumar to demonstrate his majority before the no-confidence motion against the Speaker is addressed.

Currently, the NDA claims to have the support of 128 MLAs, which is six more than the required halfway mark of 122 in the 243-member Assembly. The BJP holds 78 MLAs, the JD(U) 45, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) four, and one Independent. On the other hand, the Mahagathbandhan, comprising the RJD, Congress, CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI, and CPI(M), commands 114 MLAs, with an additional MLA from the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM.

On Sunday, the Janata Dal (United) faced internal turmoil as five of its MLAs skipped a crucial meeting of the legislature party. Simultaneously, concerns arose among RJD legislators after one of their members briefly went missing while camping at the residence of former Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, alongside Left MLAs. Meanwhile, legislators from the BJP and the Congress, who were secluded in Bodh Gaya and Hyderabad respectively, returned to Patna in the evening.

State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, who convened a meeting of the JD(U) legislature party, downplayed the absence of "two or three MLAs," attributing it to "unavoidable circumstances." He emphasized that the absentees would be present in the Assembly on Monday. JD(U) national spokesperson Rajib Ranjan urged the media not to read too much into the absentees' situation, citing personal engagements as the reason for their absence.

Late Sunday evening, the Pataliputra Police visited Tejashwi Yadav’s official residence following a missing person complaint filed for Sheohar MLA Chetan Anand, son of former party MP Anand Mohan. Chetan, who eventually arrived at Yadav’s residence, stated that he had voluntarily visited and dismissed the missing person complaint.

Allegations surfaced regarding the JD(U)'s tactics to divert attention from the absentee MLAs, with speculations of potential defections. While BJP spokesperson Santosh Pathak labelled the opposition as "nervous," former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi reiterated HAM(S)'s support for the NDA, affirming the loyalty of the party's four MLAs.