Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led Grand Alliance government, Mahagathbandhan won the trust vote in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
The BJP walked out in protest during his address ahead of the voting.
Following the BJP walkout, Nitish Kumar received all 160 votes in the subsequent ballot. In the 243-member Bihar assembly, 164 MLAs backed Nitish Kumar’s government, making the majority test mostly a formality.
Since Nitish Kumar broke his alliance with the BJP and decided to form a coalition government with the RJD earlier this month, the political situation in the state has changed.
Kumar was sworn in as Chief Minister for a record eighth time on August 10 and expanded his cabinet a week after breaking his alliance with BJP.
A total of 31 ministers were inducted into the Bihar cabinet from various parties that are part of the Mahagathbandhan or the Grand Alliance in the state.
On August 16, the new ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan at Raj Bhavan.
The RJD got 16 ministerial berths while the Janata Dal (United) got 11. From RJD, Deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav’s brother Tej Pratap Yadav, Samir Kumar Mahaseth, Chandrashekhar, Kumar Sarvajeet, Lalit Yadav, Surendra Prasad Yadav, Ramanand Yadav, Jitendra Kumar Rai, Anita Devi, and Sudhakar Singh and Alok Mehta took the oath.
Congress legislators Afaque Alam and Murari Lal Gautam were inducted into the cabinet as ministers, while Hindustani Awam Morcha’s Santosh Suman was also sworn in.
The Bihar cabinet can have up to 36 ministers, including the Chief Minister. Some ministerial berths will be kept vacant for future cabinet expansion.
(With Agency Inputs)