Bihar Election Result: The NDA won 125 seats in a closely-fought race. (File)
Patna, Bihar:
Nitish Kumar is set to be sworn in as Chief Minister for the fourth straight term but with the results this time downgrading him to second place in the ruling alliance, he is likely to have two deputies from ally BJP instead of one, say sources.
The decision was reportedly taken at a late night meeting between Nitish Kumar and top Bihar BJP leaders.
Sources say Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi are likely to be the new deputies to the Chief Minister. Mr Prasad has already been named the leader of the BJP legislature party.
Renu Devi, asked about the reports, said she would follow the party’s orders.
Sushil Kumar Modi had been Deputy Chief Minister to Nitish Kumar since 2005 except for the time the Chief Minister formed government with the RJD and the Congress.
When Nitish Kumar dumped the alliance and resurrected his ties with the BJP, Sushil Kumar Modi once again took over as his number two.
The two are believed to share a good rapport.
But with Nitish Kumar’s party Janata Dal United ending up with far fewer seats than the BJP, which so far played second fiddle in Bihar, many changes are in order, say sources.
Sushil Modi is likely to be sent to the centre as a Union Minister.
“The BJP and the Sangh Parivar gave me so much in the political life of 40 years. I will discharge the responsibility that will be given to me. No one can take away the post of the party worker,” Mr Modi wrote on Twitter yesterday.
Top BJP leaders are believed to be of the view that they have conceded the post of Chief Minister despite a gap of 31 legislators between the two allies – with the JDU in the junior position — so two Deputy Chief Ministers, along with the all-important post of Speaker, are only fair.
Nitish Kumar and the BJP retained power in the election that ended last week by winnin 125 seats in the 243-member assembly. The Chief Minister’s party, however, ended at the third place, with the opposition RJD or Rashtriya Janata Dal of Tejashwi Yadav winning the most number of seats, followed closely by the BJP.
