From Gathbandhan to Ghar Wapsi: Nitish's 8-hour journey to form a new government

Nitish Kumar put down his papers in front of the magistrate at 7:30 pm yesterday, citing 'probity in office'. He was disturbed by the fact that neither the Congress nor the RJD bothered to clear Tejaswi's stance on corruption charges. This could prove to be a victory stand for the BJP who congratulated Nitish Kumar for fighting corruption.

The Gatbandhan alliances in Bihar had a sleepless night yesterday when Nitish Kumar- the JD(U) chief and the chief minister of Bihar- resigned from the coalition, citing corruption at around 7:30 pm. Congress and RJ(D) will now have a tough time beating the odds, given the fact that it wouldn't be difficult for Nitish to form a majority again with his 71 MLAs and BJPs 53, who can together reach the magic number of 122 easily. This, whereas, RJD'S 81 MLAs and Congress’ 27 and allies’ three legislators, the alliance is nowehere close to being grand anymore. 

Needless to say, Nitish Kumar would be sworn in as the chief minister of Bihar today, with the support of BJP. It can now be said that Nitish Kumar's homecoming has relaxed the BJP who are now in a better position to combat the opposition and its plans for a "united secular alliance" in 2019. Experts are of the opinion that this was a well-scripted plan as immediately after Nitish stepped down, Modi Tweeted, "Congratulations! Mr Nitish Kumar for joining the fight against corruption. 1.25 crore people are welcoming and supporting his honesty  For the bright future of the country, and especially Bihar, it is the need of the hour to rise above political differences and join the fight against corruption."

The timeline 

The drama started unfolding at 7:30 pm yesterday when Nitish visited the magistrate's office and put down his papers over probity in office. Following the corruption charges against Tejaswi Yadav, the chief minister wanted him to step down. However, the later, along with his father refused to do so. Kumar had also met Congress voce-president Rahul Gandhi to resolve the issue, but the meeting did not turn out to be in his favour. Speaking to media, Kumar said, "I met Bihar Governor and submitted my resignation. I have resigned because it was getting tough for me to work as the Chief Minister." He further added, "I met Bihar Governor and submitted my resignation. I have resigned because it was getting tough for me to work as the Chief Minister."

Clarifying his stance, Nitish further said that he did not ask either Lalu or Tejaswi to resign, but urged them to clarify the allegations against Tejaswi in public. Nitish accused the duo of dodging the entire issue, which went against his principles.