Power tussle continues in Bihar, Governor rejects CM Manjhi's recommendation of Cabinet expansion

 

Patna: Bihar Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on Monday evening refused Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's recommendation for Cabinet expansion. Following his expulsion from Janata Dal United's primary membership the Bihar Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary declared Manhji an unattached member of the Assembly.
With political developments taking place at a rapid pace in Bihar, Manjhi met the Governor on Monday afternoon and claimed he was ready for a floor test to prove his majority in the Assembly.
"We are not running away from the floor test. We want to prove our majority. Nitish's election is not valid," Manjhi said. However, he added that voting should be by secret ballot and senior JDU leader Nitish Kumar should not be present in the House at the time when ballot boxes are opened. "The ballot boxes should be opened in the presence of two independent observers," he said.

After expulsion from JDU's primary membership the Bihar Assembly Speaker declared Manhji an unattached member of the Assembly.

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Earlier in the day, Nitish also met the Bihar Governor to stake claim to form government in the state with the support of 130 MLAs. In a show of strength, Nitish paraded JDU, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress MLAs at the Governor House in Patna.
The former CM's supporters threatened to protest in Delhi if the Governor doesn't allow him to hold a floor test in 48 hours.
After meeting the Governor, RJD chief Lalu Prasad said that they have made a unanimous request to make Nitish the CM of the state. "All parties, the RJD, CPI, Congress have given their letter of support to the Governor for Nitish Kumar to form government in Bihar.The Governor heard us and said that Manjhi will also be meeting him today. We have requested Governor to ask Nitish Kumar to take oath as the Bihar CM without delay." Lalu said.
Nitish also stated that they have urged the Governor to take a prompt decision.
While announcing the expulsion of Manjhi, party spokesperson KC Tyagi alleged that Bihar is not developing but crime has increased ever since he became the CM. "Operation Manjhi is being conducted by top leaders of BJP from Delhi," he also alleged.
Meanwhile, Manjhi's supporters moved the High Court against his expulsion for making anti-party statements.
In the 243-member Legislative Assembly, the JD(U) has 111 MLAs, BJP 87, RJD 24, Congress 5 besides 5 Independents, while 10 seats are vacant. The Nitish camp claims the support of 130 MLAs - 100 from JDU, 24 from the RJD, 5 from Congress and 1 from CPI.