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".
Pre-booking started for the Samsung Galaxy S23 series, only this much money has to be paid
Samsung Galaxy S23 series: Korean company Samsung is going to launch the Samsung Galaxy s23 serie
It has been cold in North India for the past few days. The Meteorological Department has issued a
Nokia India Signs 3 Year Contract with HCL Infosystems
New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS) Nokia India, a subsidiary of Microsoft Mobile Oy, has signed a three-y
WHO Convence emergency meeting today, will discuss the situation in Corona worldwide
Geneva: The World Health Organization (WHO) has called a meeting of the Emergency Committee on Th
The BCCI suspended IPL 2021 citing the health and safety of the players, but there were many reas
Jaipur Mumbai Train Firing An incident has come to the fore raising questions on the safety of th
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren shared an emotional post on the demise of his father and Jh
Hotel business halved in Corona's third wave: 24 lakh people lost jobs so far
Amid the third wave of Corona, restaurant owners across the country are seeing a difficult road a
Adipurush Twitter Review: Prabhas Adipurush hit the theatres, see VFX and know how people reacted
Adipurush Twitter Review: Prabhas and Kriti Sanon starrer film 'Adipurush' fans were waiting for
These 5 amazing features make iPhone completely different from the Android phone
The market has been dominated by two types of phones for since long. The fight between an iPhone
