Over and done. Nitish splits with BJP, trust vote on Wednesday

Mangalore Today/NDTV

Patna, June 16: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has confirmed that his alliance with the BJP is over.  In a meeting with Governor DY Patil this afternoon, he asked for the BJP’s 11 ministers to be dismissed from his cabinet. He has reportedly been asked to prove his majority with a trust vote in the Bihar Assembly on Wednesday.

Next up, say sources, an announcement of the split by Sharad Yadav, who heads Mr Kumar’s party, the Janata Dal (United).

 

Earlier today, the JDU finalized a resolution that will explain its reasons for ending the 17-year-alliance. Sources say the party will officially attribute its decision to Narendra Modi, BJP leader and Gujarat Chief Minister. Though Mr Modi will not be named, the JD(U) will castigate his party for placing him in charge of its national campaign.

Earlier this morning, the BJP’s 11 ministers in Mr Kumar’s cabinet skipped the emergency meet he convened.

"What is the point in us being there unless the Chief Minister clarifies his stand on the alliance?" asked Mangal Pandey, a senior leader of the BJP.

JD(U) sources say that the chief minister will employ the cabinet meet to point out that the BJP was unwilling to meet him half-way in negotiations.

The JD(U) says that the appointment of Mr Modi as the chairman of the BJP’s campaign committee will lead to his being named its prime ministerial nominee, which Mr Kumar has declared unacceptable.

The BJP has said that the assumption is incorrect, and that the presumptive prime minister will be chosen after extensive dialogue with its allies, but it cannot reconsider the recent promotion conferred on the Gujarat Chief Minister.

To prove his majority in the state assembly, Mr Kumar needs 122 votes. The JD(U) has 118 state legislators.

Sources say that there is disquietude within the JD(U) over the decision to end the collaboration with the BJP which is popular with upper caste voters.