Patna, Feb 20 (IANS) Embattled Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi Friday dramatically resigned just ahead of a floor test, the move coming despite the BJP extending support to him.
Manjhi said that he did not get respect as chief minister.
"I have submitted my resignation letter to the governor. I should have quit before," said Manjhi soon after he met Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi here Friday.
He claimed that he as well as some legislators had received threats to their lives.
An official told IANS that Manjhi met the governor ahead of a trust vote he faced later in the day.
Manjhi was picked by former chief minister and JD-U leader Nitish Kumar as his replacement when he quit last year after JD-U's rout in the Lok Sabha polls.
In the 243-member assembly, the JD-U has 115 legislators - most of whom are with Nitish Kumar. The party has the support of 24 Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) legislators, five Congress MLAs, two Independents and a CPI MLA.
The BJP has 88 legislators and is supported by three Independents.
Nitish Kumar was quick to react on Manjhi's resignation and said: "Our stand has been vindicated."
He told reporters that the "BJP game plan has been exposed".
Manjhi said that he had requested Governor Tripathi to hold a secret ballot and "in that case, I would have had the support of 40-50 JD-U legislators".
But, since "I realised that secret ballot may not happen, a lot of legislators would have lost their membership if it would have been known that they had voted for me, that's why I decided to quit".
Manjhi maintained that "quite a few MLAs had met him in the night and pledged support to him".
He accused JD-U of "horse-trading", an euphemism for driving a hard bargain to ensure adequate numbers in a floor test.
On Thursday, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said that the BJP decided to support Manjhi during the confidence vote in the assembly Friday.
"After a long meeting of the BJP legislators, the party has decided to support Manjhi during his confidence vote in the assembly," Modi had said.
JD-U spokesperson K.C. Tyagi Friday told IANS that Janata Dal-United (JD-U) has the majority in Bihar and the "governor will call Nitish Kumar by today evening or latest by tomorrow to prove his majority".
The fast paced political development took place a day after Speaker Uday Narain Choudhary notified JD-U leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary as leader of opposition, replacing Nand Kishore Yadav of the BJP which will support Manjhi during the confidence vote.
The speaker accepted Nitish Kumar's demand that JD-U be given the status of the main opposition party.
Manjhi, after being expelled from the JD-U Feb 9, has been declared as an unattached member in the assembly. He was expelled for allegedly "indulging in anti-party activities".
KCET 2023 Exam: Karnataka Common Entrance Test notification released, know everything from admit card to the exam
KCET 2023 Notification released: Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has released the application dates and other information for KCET application 2023. KCET Application 2023 dates and other
Sale from Realme to OnePlus starts today, buy your favorite device at a cheap price
On the occasion of the 72nd Republic Day of the country, many companies are organizing a sale. Where the Great Republic Day Sale of Amazon and the Flipkart Big Saving Day Sale has started. At the same
Coronavirus Updates: Lowest cases of corona in three months, 6915 new cases registered in 24 hours, 180 deaths
The effect of the third wave of corona infection in the country is almost over. The Ministry of Health has issued an update regarding Corona. According to the report, after three months on Tuesday,
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said India's development is linked to the depth of development of Indian technology
Global Technology Summit 2022 is being organized in the national capital Delhi. In this conference on Tuesday, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar joined. He said that the development of India is
Cyclone Michaung: Central government in action mode regarding 'Cyclone Michaung', PM Modi gave this message while alerting the countrymen
The central government is in action mode regarding Cyclone Michong. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also warned about this while addressing the countrymen last night. The PM said he is in constant touch
Collingwood credits India for turnaround, hails batsmen
Melbourne, March 17 (IANS) Ahead of Thursday's India vs Bangladesh quarterfinal, former England captain Paul Collingwood credited the players and the team management for India's turnaround in the
BJP will work for Jats' reservation, says Hema Malini
Mathura, March 26 (IANS) The BJP favoured continuing reservations for Jats in jobs and a review petition with details and factual social profile of the community will be filed afresh in the apex
Bible Controversy: The Archbishop denied the allegations, said - no student of other religion became Christian in our school
After the Hijab controversy in Karnataka, now the controversy regarding the Bible has continued. Recently, Hindu organizations protested over the alleged mandatory Bible for all students at the more
Vikas Divyakirti Interview: ‘Now we will never work in the basement’, Vikas Divyakirti apologized; issued a statement
Dr. Vikas Divyakirti, the owner of Delhi's renowned coaching institute, Drishti IAS, broke his silence on the Old Rajinder Nagar incident. His first reaction came after the death of three UPSC
Maharashtra Assembly Election: NCP announces names of two more candidates, know who has been given ticket from where
Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Tuesday announced the names of two more candidates for the Maharashtra Assembly elections to be held on November 20. In this, Divya Mahadevrao Bhuyar
