Patna, Feb 10 (IANS) Unfazed by the uncertainty over his continuance, Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi called a cabinet meeting Tuesday and might recommend dissolution of the state assembly, an official said.
"Manjhi has called a meeting of his cabinet at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Though the agenda is not known, he may take some big decisions, including recommending dissolution of the state assembly," an official in the chief minister office here said.
The development came a day after Manjhi insisted that he remained chief minister till he fails to prove his majority in the state assembly.
A Janata Dal-United leader close to Manjhi, however, said he "may or may not recommend dissolution of the state assembly, but by holding a cabinet meeting, he wanted to send a strong massage that he is still a chief minister".
In the last cabinet meeting Feb 7 after senior Bihar minister Narendra Singh had proposed dissolution of the assembly, 21 of the 28 ministers had walked out.
These ministers were considered close to former chief minister Nitish Kumar.
The battle lines have clearly been drawn as Manjhi, expelled from the ruling JD-U Monday, sought to prove his majority on the floor of the assembly and his predecessor, Nitish Kumar, staking claim to form the government, accused Manjhi of "horse-trading".
Things came to a boil Monday when Nitish Kumar met Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi and formally staked claim to form the government.
He, along with 130 legislators of his JD-U, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Congress and the Communist Party of India marched to Raj Bhavan.
Manjhi, hand-picked by then chief minister Nitish Kumar as his replacement when he quit last year after the JD-U's rout in the Lok Sabha polls, also met the governor and sought to prove his majority in the assembly but by "secret ballot".
In the 243-member assembly, the JD-U has 115 legislators - most of whom are reportedly with Nitish Kumar. It is backed by 24 legislators of the RJD, five of the Congress, two Independents and one from the CPI.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 88 legislators and is supported by three Independents.
After a day, there has been an increase in the cases of corona in the country again. Today, 1 tho
"PT Usha ji, I am sorry...", after Mahua Moitra MP Priyanka Chaturvedi supports women wrestlers
Wrestlers Protest Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi has come forward in support of the wrest
Now everyone will get cheap medicines, government will open 25 thousand new Jan Aushadhi Kendras.
More than 15,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras have been opened across the country so far and the governme
In IPL 2022, the 39th match of the season will be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and
Elemental tales of human history (Column: Bookends)
Numbering over 100, they, in various simple and complex com
Trinamool suspends lawmaker for protesting against party
Kolkata, Feb 25 (IANS) West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress Wednesday suspended legislator S
Metro services on Holi from 2.30 p.m.
New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) Delhi Metro services on Holi wil
IND vs. PAK: Under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, Team India shattered the pride of Pakistan on M
Perth, Feb 28 (IANS) India beat the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by nine wickets in their cricket
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday that talks for signing bilateral Fre
