Nitish Kumar wins floor test in Bihar Assembly as BJP stages walkout during his address

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday won the floor test to prove the majority of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ alliance government in the Assembly after the BJP staged a walkout as the Janata Dal (United) supremo addressed the House. Kumar proved his majority by a voice vote with 160 votes in his favour and zero against the .

Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly were earlier adjourned till 2pm, following which deputy speaker Maheshwar Hazari handled the session. Later, RJD leader and deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav addressed the Assembly in favour of the motion, followed by Kumar.

Ahead of the floor test, the BJP’s Vijay Kumar Sinha resigned as the speaker of the Assembly after a no-confidence motion against him was moved by the MLAs of the ruling coalition.

He also said that casting allegations on the Chair would send out a negative message to the public. “The Chair is ‘Panch Parmeshwar’. What message do you want to give by casting suspicions on the Chair? People will make a decision,” the BJP legislator said addressing the House.

The special session of the Assembly is being held weeks after Kumar snapped ties with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and brought back the Mahagathbandhan to power after joining hands with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).