In the afternoon on Wednesday, RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav ruled out resignation by his son Tejaswi Prasad Yadav as Bihar's deputy chief minister claiming that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had not asked for it. A few hours later, Kumar left JD(U) legislature party meeting midway for an emergency meeting with Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, triggering speculations in political circles.
Shortly after 6:30 pm, Nitish Kumar submitted his resignation to the Governor, ending his two-year alliance with the RJD and the Congress. And by midnight, he had again staked claim to form government, only with a different partner - this time with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP. These 6 hours had been full of action and drama with fast-paced developments.
Here are 6 hours that changed the political landscape of Bihar:
* 6:30 PM: Nitish Kumar left his residence for a meeting with the Governor and 10 minutes later news broke that he had stepped down as the Chief Minister of politically crucial state.
* 7:09 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Nitish Kumar on resignation and joining the fight against corruption.
* 9:00 PM: Nitish Kumar responded to Modi's tweet and thanked him. "I wholeheartedly thank PM Narendra Modi on his reaction through twitter to our decision," he said.
* 9:15 PM: BJP announced unconditional support to Nitish Kumar. A little while later, Sushil Modi said the BJP will join the government in the state.
* 10:00 PM: MLAs of BJP, JD(U) and other NDA constituents elect Nitish Kumar as their leader.
* 12:00 AM (July 27): Nitish Kumar staked claim to form government in Bihar.
