Bihar Deputy Speaker and ruling JD(U) leader Maheshwar Hazari resigned on Wednesday. It was not immediately known why the senior leader, who was formerly a minister in the Nitish Kumar Cabinet, gave up the post. However, there is a buzz that he could be inducted into the newly formed Nitish Cabinet.
On his resignation as Deputy Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly, Hazari said, "I have willingly resigned by keeping high command in the loop. As a dedicated soldier of the party, whatever decision the party takes for me, I will perform that duty with seriousness and devotion."
Hazari has been a 4-time MLA from JDU. The notification of his resignation was issued today by the Bihar Legislative Assembly Secretariat.
Nitish's surprise switch to NDA
Bihar saw a drastic change where in several RJD ministers lost their posts, while the BJP leaders got power. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, in a surprise move, ditched his ally RJD and re-joined BJP-led NDA, fifth political switch since 2015 getting tag 'Palturam' by RJD.
Meanwhiel, Nitish Kumar, on February 12 won the trust vote in the state assembly, with 129 MLAs voting in favour of the motion, amid a walkout by all non-NDA members. Altogether, 129 legislators voted in favour of the motion, but Kumar rose to suggest that the vote of Deputy Speaker Maheshwar Hazari, who belongs to the JD(U), also be counted.
Hazari ordered a headcount after having declared the motion as passed through voice vote, following a request from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, which was seconded by Kumar, the JD(U) president.
The NDA, comprising the JD(U), BJP, former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM and an Independent, had a combined strength of 128 in the 243-strong assembly. However, it received a shot in the arm with three RJD MLAs – Prahlad Yadav, Chetan Anand and Neelam Devi – walking over to the ruling side.
BJP MLAs, who were elated at the party’s return to power after a gap of nearly 17 months, erupted in chants of ‘Jai Shree Ram’ as the trust vote was won by the chief minister, who spoke for nearly 30 minutes, venting spleen against erstwhile allies RJD and Congress as also the opposition INDIA bloc, which he had helped form.
